Where to Bet on CS:GO ECS Tournaments
Esports Championship Series, often referred to as ECS, is a highly popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) tournament that has grown into a proper powerhouse already. The biggest charm of this tournament lies in the fierce rivalry between the two most notable regions on the current CS:GO competitive scene. And guess what – ECS puts them both straight into the fire and makes them battle it out against each other for a brilliant-looking trophy.
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We should also mention that ECS is a biannual tournament, similarly to ESL Pro League. Both of them are hosted twice per year, providing fans and bettors from all over the world with splendid CS:GO action. So, if Where to Bet on CS:GO ECS Tournaments is one of your burning questions, we’re happy to inform you that you’re at the right place!
Betting on CS:GO ECS Tournaments
We’ve already given you the answer to this question above! Those bookies featured in the list are the best of what the esports betting industry has to offer. Rest assured, each of them will provide the highest quality of service as far as the following aspects are concerned:
Low Profit Margins
Low profit margins mean higher betting odds, and we all know that’s what all esports bettors are looking for. Luckily, as far as those above-listed bookies are concerned, each one of them can boast with low profit margins. And we’re not just talking about betting on CS:GO ECS tournaments, but CS:GO and esports tournaments in general.
Security Measures
The security of your personal information is of crucial importance, especially in these sorts of places where you usually must provide your personal ID along with your banking information. There are lots of fishy online betting websites out there, so it’s important to choose a trustworthy one. With that said, by picking any bookie from the list above, you can rest easy knowing that all your personal information are as safe and secure as they can be.
Customer Support
For obvious reasons, customer support is a vital part of every flourishing esports betting website. These reasons are primarily tied to customer satisfaction as highly trained customer support staff can resolve the majority of issues users tend to have with bookies. These can range from deposit/withdraw inquiries, registration and login problems, authentication difficulties, and much more. No worries, all of our picks feature skilled customer support teams that can be reached through several channels including the most popular ones, such as live chat and email.
Esports Markets
Last, but not least – esports markets! After all, CS:GO ECS is a major esports tournament so it’s obvious that people reading this article are interested in esports betting for the most part. With that being said, all of our bookie picks feature a plethora of esports markets with great special bet coverage. So, if you’re looking for where to bet on CS:GO ECS tournaments, but you’d also like to bet on other tournaments (and esports) as well, any of these bookies are a great option!
- CS:GO ECS tournaments are held biannually, most commonly in the second and fourth quarters of the year.
- These tournaments fuel the never-ending rivalry between the NA and EU regions.
- The first iteration of ECS tournaments featured $765,000 in prize pool money. That number was watered down to $660,000 for all following events.
- All iterations of ECS were held in either EU or NA with the exception of S4 Finals, which was held at the Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun, Mexico.
A Brief History of CS:GO ECS Tournaments
The history of CS:GO ECS tournaments dates all the way back to 2016. More precisely, the 24th of June marked the start of the first ever Esports Championship Series in CS:GO. It featured eight teams, four from NA and four from EU, based off EU & NA League and online qualifiers.
The main sponsors for the inaugural CS:GO ECS tournament were FACEIT and Twitch. Both were the main sponsors for season two as well, but starting from season three onward, YouTube got enrolled in the sponsorship. This meant exclusive live stream coverage available only on their YouTube gaming platform.
As mentioned earlier, the first ever CS:GO ECS tournament featured a hefty $765,000 in prize pool money. However, all following tournaments got a slightly lower prize pool – $660,000, which is still pretty good for CS:GO standards.
As far as the actual tournament format and qualification systems are concerned, we will discuss that later on. For now, let’s check out all previous winners of CS:GO ECS tournaments!
Previous Winners
| Season | Dates | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECS S1 | 2016-06-24 – 2016-06-26 | G2 Esports | Luminosity Gaming |
| ECS S2 | 2016-12-09 – 2016-12-11 | Astralis | OpTic Gaming |
| ECS S3 | 2017-06-23 – 2017-06-25 | SK Gaming | FaZe Clan |
| ECS S4 | 2017-12-15 – 2017-12-17 | FaZe Clan | mousesports |
| ECS S5 | 2018-06-08 – 2018-06-10 | Astralis | Team Liquid |
| ECS S6 | 2018-11-22 – 2018-11-25 | Astralis | MIBR |
Tournament Format
As we already explained above, CS:GO ECS tournaments feature a total of eight teams, four from NA and four from EU regions. Online qualifiers determine all eight spots for the ECS finals tournaments, which are played in front of a live audience in gorgeous venues across the world (mostly switching between EU and NA locations). Now that we got this out of our way, let’s take a closer look at how these tournaments, including their respective qualifiers, unfold!
Qualifiers/Leagues
Considering that ECS puts the best EU and NA teams against each other in the finals event, the starting point of the competition is always fierce. The qualification process was a bit complicated back in the earliest ECS season but was significantly simplified in recent times.
Nowadays, there are EU and NA Leagues, each featuring ten teams. Seven teams are there because of their performances on the previous ECS with the remaining three spots left for Challenger Cups. The format is pretty straightforward – all teams play each other twice, with all matches being played as a best of one series.
- Top four teams advance to the ECS finals
- 5th to 8th place teams advance to the next season’s qualifiers/leagues
- Bottom two teams are relegated to the next season’s Challenger Cup
Group Stage
Esports Championship Series finals kick off with the group stage. There are two groups with mixed teams in each, two from NA and two from EU. We are talking about double-elimination groups, meaning teams can lose one match and still go through to the playoffs. Opening and winners’ rounds are played as best of one, with the remaining rounds scheduled for a best of three series. Last, but not least – only the two top teams from each group advance to the playoffs.
Playoffs
In the end, the remaining four teams will battle it out against each other in the semifinals. The winners advance through to the grand finals while the losers share third and fourth place. All playoff matches are played as a best of three series with the grand finale match being reserved for the last day of the competition.
Special Bets Available During ECS Tournaments
Most of you reading this have come here for some concrete betting info, and don’t worry, we won’t fail to deliver. With that being said, here is a quick list of the most common special bets you will come across during ECS tournaments:
Outright Winner/Region of the Winner
These two types of special bets are, by far, the most common ones in the entirety of esports. They are highly popular because the majority of CS:GO (and esports) tournaments only last for a couple of days, upping the tension on these bets.
Rounds Over/Under
These are another popular type of special bets not just in the world of esports, but with traditional sports as well (goals over/under). A different take on this bet that works with a best of the series match goes by the name maps over/under where you’ll end up betting on the total number of maps in the series rather than the number of rounds on a single map.
Pistol Rounds
We’re sure most of you know the importance of pistol rounds. They can skew the in-game economy right off the bat which is why all teams tend to practice extra for them. As far as betting on pistol rounds goes, the most frequent bets you’ll see are Will Team A Win Both Pistol Rounds and Will Team B Win Both Pistol Rounds.
Knife Kills Over/Under
Don’t mistake this one for a knife round win as they’re not the same thing. Knife Kills special bet will basically give you a rough number and you will have to guess whether the total knife kill count will be higher or lower than that number. These special bets are pretty rare and only available during the biggest CS:GO tournaments, such as ECS.
Ace
One of the most frequently featured special bets is Will There Be an Ace! Obviously, it’s quite tricky to get this right since aces are pretty scarce at the top competitive levels. On the bright side – the odds are big, so bet low and hope for the best!
CS:GO ECS Tournaments | FAQ
Which Two CS:GO Regions Are Featured in CS:GO ECS Tournaments?
For those of you who don’t know – ECS is FACEIT’s premier league featuring the four best teams from both NA and EU regions. The qualifications are done through online qualifiers with the ECS finals being scheduled shortly after both qualifying stages are done and dealt with.
Which of These Two Regions Has Been the Dominant One?
If you take a closer look at the table above, you’ll see that Astralis has been the most dominant name on it thus far. For those of you who don’t know, Astralis is an EU team who’ve won several ECS tournaments.
Where to Watch CS:GO ECS Tournaments?
Ever since YouTube took over the main sponsorship role for these tournaments, they’ve made live stream coverage exclusive to their YouTube gaming platform. While this might be weird and confusing to some of you, there really are no major differences between enjoying CS:GO matches on Twitch and YouTube gaming.
Conclusion
With the FAQ section done and dealt with, it’s time to wrap up our comprehensive Where to Bet on CS:GO ECS Tournaments guide! Whether you like it or not, the fiercest rivalry in modern CS:GO competitive scene is that between NA and EU. The roots of this rivalry go all the way back to Counter-Strike: Source. Heck, even Counter-Strike 1.6 despite it not having proper esports coverage like we’re used to having nowadays.
Just by looking at the table above, every knowledgeable esports fan could conclude that EU has had the stronger start of the two. However, the competitiveness is still at an admirable level. SK Gaming, back in ECS S3, won the tournament for the NA region, and has had multiple runner-up finishes in previous seasons.
Overall, we believe it’s safe to say that ECS tournaments are a rather special bunch. Even though there are other similar tournaments out there, none manages to captivate the fans, the live audience, and the players themselves as much as ECS. This age-old rivalry is always a huge motivator, meaning we’ll always see the best performances from both sides of the ocean!
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