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As of November 2017, Europe is the best region in Dota. This region is home to many of the world’s best teams, and the world’s best team.

Team Liquid, Team Secret, and OG are based in Europe. Between Team Secret and OG, they have every Majortournament championship from before the current tournament system. They’ve won:

Dota 2 (Defense of the Ancients 2) is one of the most popular games globally and in the eSports online gambling scene. It is under the category of multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games. In this Dota 2 online sports betting guide, you'll learn about how to wager on the game, the best sites to place bets on, betting tips, and other info to. An Overview of Dota 2 Carries Disabler Initiator Jungler Support Durable Nuker Pusher Escape.

  • Frankfurt Major 2015. OG
  • Shanghai Major 2016. Team Secret
  • Manila Major 2016. OG
  • Boston Major 2016. OG
  • Kiev Major 2017. OG

Team Secret and OG will forever be the only teams to win a Valve-run Major tournament (not including The International) because of the new changes to the competitive system. There may be more Major tournament champions, like Virtus Pro who won ESLOne Hamburg, but the days of city Majors run by Valve are over.

Team Secret has been playing very well recently. I consider them a top 4 team worldwide at the moment, because they have made deep runs in many tournaments in the new season, including taking2nd place at the first Major of the season.

OG has been struggling as of late. They recently added Resolut1on to their roster, replacing ana after TI7. This works out well for OG because this team performs better when they are underdogs.Due to their success at major tournaments, they were considered the best team in Dota, and have struggled with that title, unlike Team Liquid, who is the clear best team in the world andcontinues to dominate.

Team Liquid started their run as the number one team in the world in January 2017 when their last member, GH, joined. A few months beforeBuLba joined Liquid at the same time as Miracle-, but itwasn’t until GH replaced BuLba that Team Liquid took off.

In 2017, TL played in 13 events. They won 1st place in 9 of those events, including TI7.

They also had a winning streak of 5 tournaments before they lost to Team Secret at ESL One Hamburg. From May 2017 to October 2017, Team Liquid never lost a tournament.

After their loss at ESL One Hamburg, people didn’t know what to expect. Was Team Liquid falling off? Did they pass their peak? Had other teams surpassed them? All of those questions were answeredat Dota Pit, Liquid’s next tournament, where they won 1st place again.

Europe has the world’s best team, and two teams that hold every Valve Major Championship. Europe also has a slew of talented tier-2 teams. MidOrFeed, HellRaisers, mousesports, and Team Kinguinare notable tier-2 teams that, if given the chance, can make a decent run at a tournament. Mousesports won 2nd place at the Boston Major, under the name Ad Finem.

Europe is number one in the world at the moment. They’re clearly ahead of the rest of the regions, but it’s not a gap as big as the Pacific Ocean. It’s more like the width of the Indian Ocean.

Dota 2 by Valve Corporation is an incredibly popular video game within the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre. The game is also one of the largest esports in the world and there are plenty of Dota betting options at top bookmakers,

The origins of MOBA are a point of contention among some, but the first widely played example of a MOBA was a player-made map called Defense of the Ancients for Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft III real-time strategy game. The content was created using the game, but was not made or owned by Blizzard itself. One of the developers associated with the mod, who is known publicly as “Icefrog,” was employed by Valve as lead designer on Dota 2.

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How Dota 2 is Played

MOBAs are a combination of role-playing and real-time strategy games. Each match of Dota 2 consists of ten players in a 5v5 format. Each team controls one of two bases which continually send out AI-controlled “creeps,” or small combat units. These creeps move along three paths that connect the bases, and they attack players and towers controlled by the opposing team. Towers are structures that are strategically located at choke-points along the three paths. The location of structures and bases in Dota 2 is the same for every game, which makes it easier to place Dota bets. The first team to destroy the “ancient” (central building) located in the other team’s base is the winner.

Players control one hero character out of a selection of over 100, each with unique abilities. They gain levels throughout the match, which enables new abilities, by killing creeps and other players. Killing other players is a source of income, as is “last-hitting,” and the money gained can be spent on items to increase a hero’s stats. Heroes are classified by their roles:

  • Carries are initially weak heroes who grow to become the strongest by the end of the match. They are expected to lead their team to victory in the late-game stages.
  • Initiators are characters whose skills are most effective at starting “team fights,” or when a majority of the players of each team are engaged in a single skirmish.
  • Supports are heroes who focus on helping their teammates with skills like healing spells.
  • Disablers are support heroes capable of temporarily preventing enemy heroes from taking certain actions.
  • Lane supports help their team’s “carry” with killing units and players in the early game.
  • Durables can withstand larger amounts of damage than other heroes.
  • Nukers are capable of dealing significant damage, even in the early stages, through the use of potent and consistent damage-dealing abilities.
  • Pushers are best suited for destroying towers and vying for map control.
  • Escapes have abilities which enable them to move in special ways around an area.

The most important thing to keep in mind when visiting a Dota 2 betting site about these roles is that they are not too strictly defined. Within each role classification, there are numerous branches (such as semi-carries and “hard” carries, etc.)

Each hero can usually play at least two of these roles, but often more. None of them can fulfill every role.

Tournaments, and the Enormous Prize Pool

The tournaments in Dota 2 feature some of the largest prize pools and spectator numbers in the world, which is also responsible for the popularity of Dota 2 betting. Games can be watched within the Dota 2 client itself through a spectator mode. Valve actually rewards players for watching certain games with in-game content.

The largest tournament is the Dota 2 International Championships, run by Valve. The prize pool for the 2019 version of this tournament was over $34 million USD.

Image Credits Valve

To achieve such an incredible figure, Valve sold portfolios of in-game cosmetic content (such as alternate hero appearances, none of which alter gameplay balance) called “Compendiums.” These can be bought at multiple price points, and each player’s personal Compendium can be “leveled up” (one way to level up is by spending more money) to unlock more content.

Additionally, as more Compendiums are sold worldwide, Valve makes more content available to all Compendium owners regardless of level, in a system reminiscent of Kickstarter rewards. Twenty-five percent of all sales goes to the prize pool. There are other tournaments, however, with vastly different prize pools, a number of entrants, average skill level, etc. For comprehensive tournament schedule information, liquipedia.net is always a great source. This is also a great source of information for those who have found a betting site for Dota 2 and want to learn more about the participating teams.

Factors for Success

There are few companies, if any, better suited for creating and maintaining an esport than Valve. They took notice of a mod that had already been lauded for its gameplay and balancing, and they saw the potential for it to thrive in a more public competitive setting. There are many factors which contributed to the growth of Dota 2 (and some which still do):

  • The wide use of Valve’s Steam client among PC gamers, and their company’s reputation.
  • The game’s free-to-play model allows everyone access to every hero character at no cost. There is no rotating roster of “free” heroes while locking others behind a paywall. Anyone with internet access and a suitable PC can play without paying any money.
  • A spectator mode is built into the game itself, allowing players to watch pro teams.
  • The game is heavily iterative of the original mod, and it benefited from all the balancing that the mod received. It is currently an extremely balanced game.
  • The game features RTS-like complexity, but with a simpler control scheme.
  • The use of the Steam client in item-based gambling on Dota 2 matches (more below).

Place a real or play money Dota 2 bet

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Dota 2 is the way that spectators can gamble on match outcomes. People can place Dota 2 bets using three things and any respectable Dota betting site :

  • Money
  • Play Money
  • In-Game Items

Gambling real money at Dota 2 betting sites

Dota

For most readers who are familiar with gambling outside of esports, the first two should be familiar. Play money and real money gambling are often offered by the same sites, with play money being the substitute for those where online gambling is illegal (such as in the United States), or as a tool with which to practice and become acclimated to the idea of a wager.

The kinds of bets that people make are wagers on who will win a particular game, a future bet on the winner of a tournament, a bet on how far a team will go in a tournament, etc. Sites that offer esports gambling include Pinnacle Sports and bet365. We’re also fans of Betway eSports, which offers an array of titles, including several Dota 2 matches.

Some sites, such as DraftKings, offer fantasy league & esports betting. Similar to fantasy leagues for live-action sports, fantasy bets for esports are based on bettors choosing a roster of pro players for their own fantasy team. The performance of those players determines whether or not you earn money. There are points given for kills and assists, and points taken away for deaths.

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Gambling with in-game content on Dota 2

The ways to wager on Dota 2 only deviate from the gambling norm through the ability to wager in-game content on the outcomes of high profile matches. Using the Steam client by Valve (who is not actually affiliated with the gambling itself, but allows for third parties to use Steam), players can connect to dota2lounge.com to trade or bet the in-game content they own. These in-game items have real-world monetary value, and their sale is a primary means by which Dota 2 is sustainable monetarily.

These items are all classified by their rarities. Bettors look at the odds for each bet, how many items of a particular rarity they must wager, and the items they would receive back if they won their bet. Players choose items to wager and send them to the trading accounts run by these sites through the Steam platform’s own trade functionality. They then receive the appropriate rewards, and their wager items, when the match is over (or they lose, and get nothing).

One possible problem for people who don’t actually play Dota 2, however, is that it’s a bit difficult to find places to reliably sell items to other people for real money. Items can be sold on Steam’s Marketplace for money on a Steam Account, but this money can only be used on the Steam service itself. One site that offers gamblers the chance to sell items is dota2shop.net, but it’s difficult to say how reliable the site truly is. There are some bare bones sites like dotamarket.com which keep forums to track buy and sell offers, as well as discussions of buyer/seller reputations, but the site doesn’t ensure the safety of any transaction.

Special Dota 2 Betting Markets

The fun of Dota betting consists in the fact that punters can place their bets pregame, but also after the match has started. Live betting is particularly rewarding for veteran punters and those who also play the game and know how to take advantage of fleeting opportunities. Top bookmakers covering esports frequently incorporate live streaming on their website, so the games can be watched in real-time. The only shortcoming is that the number of special Dota 2 betting markets shrinks compared to the pre-game offer.

Casual punters prefer to bet on mainstream betting markets, such as match, map, or series winner. It is the special betting markets that appeal to veteran punters who have in-depth experience of playing the popular MOBA. These special markets are essentially bets on the first team to achieve a certain milestone. The most popular options are first blood, first team to destroy a tower, the barracks, or the first skill on Roshan.

Dota 2 special betting markets are based on momentum and it is relatively easy to predict the outcome during the game. Unfortunately, not even the best bookmakers feature these special bets in their live offer, so punters need to place them before the match begins. The odds are usually tilted in the favor of the better team when it comes to barracks just and Roshan kills because these are late-game events. On the other hand, you can get excellent odds when backing aggressive teams to score first blood or destroy the first tower. Many of these events are almost coin flips so it’s worth considering odds above even value.

Getting an Edge at Dota 2 Betting

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Making money through betting on a game requires an understanding of the game, and its best players. On top of that, simply learning about various Dota 2 gambling sites can provide a huge edge in itself. Both types of knowledge can be acquired by watching the aforementioned Dota 2 International Championships, where the best players in the world compete. Any broadcast with a famous commentator (such as TobiWan) will give you more information than anyone could because they know more about the sport than anyone short of professionals.

There are also qualifiers for the tournament, which are good to watch to see second-tier pros and learn more about up-and-comers. The place for in-depth statistics about any match is liquipedia.net. Here is a page that gives statistics for one round of a wild card matchup for this year’s International Championships. Important stats include the following:

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  • Kills (K)
  • Deaths (D)
  • Assists (A)
  • Last Hits (LH)
  • Gold Per Minute (GPM)
  • Experience Per Minute (XPM)

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Keep in mind the role and hero each character was playing when looking at statistics. A person playing a carry should have very high LH compared to the rest of their team, whereas someone playing as support will often not.

Dota 2, like all esports, is in its infancy. The idea of Dota 2 gambling – or gambling on any video games – is new. Some legwork may be required to make the most of this opportunity, but the information is out there, and someone is always willing to put in the effort. Someone who takes the time to become an early expert at Dota 2 online betting could profit enormously.

  • Place a real or play money Dota 2 bet