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!

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 24^th 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

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.

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

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!