DATA.BET has released an analysis of betting trends for the Esports World Cup 2026, revealing that live bets accounted for a remarkable 70.9% of all wagers placed during the tournament.
The event, which featured a prize pool of $75 million, took place in Paris from July 6 to August 23, marking the first time it was held outside Saudi Arabia. DATA.BET covered 24 disciplines, including the debut of Trackmania and the return of Fortnite's battle royale mode (Reload).
Key insights from iGN highlight the following:
Distribution of turnover by discipline:
- 41% — CS2
- 31.8% — Dota 2
- 11.7% — Valorant
- 8.5% — League of Legends
These four leading disciplines accounted for 93% of the total share, with League of Legends having the highest average bet and CS2 the lowest.
Live Bets vs Pre-Match:
- 70.9% — share of live bets across all disciplines
- 87.7% — share of live bets in Dota 2, the highest of the tournament
- 29.1% — share of pre-match bets in CS2, the highest among all disciplines
Market Shares in Turnover by Discipline:
- Player Props: 11.8% in CS2, 10.2% in Valorant, 4.9% in League of Legends, and 3.9% in Dota 2
- Total Rounds and Maps: 4.3% in Dota 2, 4% in League of Legends, 3.5% in CS2, and 3.4% in Valorant
- Match and Map Winner: 67.4% in Dota 2, 65.4% in League of Legends, 59% in Valorant, and 53.3% in CS2
Matches and Clubs:
- FUT Esports x Team Spirit, Team Vitality x Team Spirit, and FURIA x FUT Esports (all CS2) were the largest matches by betting volume.
- Team Spirit, FURIA, and FUT Esports led in turnover and number of bets among clubs.
- Team Spirit emerged as the EWC champions in CS2 after defeating FUT Esports in the grand final.
According to the head of the esports division at DATA.BET, the EWC was the most ambitious event of its kind, featuring a record number of disciplines. However, some of the games presented still lag behind in popularity, including among bettors. The company views this as another challenge.
The dominance of live bets at DATA.BET is attributed to the greater number of game variables in esports compared to traditional sports. In Dota 2 and League of Legends, the outcome is largely determined during the pre-match phase, where teams select heroes and ban opponents, leading bettors to wait until this phase is complete before placing bets. Notably, two of the three largest matches by betting volume involved the eventual champions, Team Spirit.