Counter-Strike 2, or CS2 for short, is one of the most popular esports titles in the world. Released by Valve in 2023, the game is an updated continuation of over a decade-long history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).
Nowadays, professional CS2 events draw in crowds from around the world, with even online-only qualification matches attracting thousands of viewers on Twitch and other live-streaming platforms.
Unlike traditional sports like football or basketball, CS2 betting can be more complex and with more moving variables in place that beginner players and bettors need to consider in order to stand a chance of generating a profit from CS2 tournaments.
We will discuss the best online sportsbooks that accept crypto, such as Bitcoin, for deposits and withdrawals, as well as important characteristics about the game and how its online community works.
Top CS2 Sportsbooks You Can Try Today
Due to the incredible popularity of the game, many online sportsbooks offer CS2 events where bettors can wager on match and tournament outcomes, as well as the performance of individual players.
Some of the best online sportsbooks offer both fiat and crypto as a means of depositing and withdrawing money.
CS2 Bookmakers We Trust
Numerous sportsbooks offer CS2 as one of the many sports titles among their offerings.
Below is a list of some of the notable bookmakers that offer plenty of CS2 positions and an opportunity to bet on all the major CS events and matches that take place throughout the season:
GG.Bet
Min deposit
10$
Licences
Curacao
Bonus
N/A
Games
10+
Year founded
2016
Comfort
5/5
ArcaneBet
Min deposit
€10
Licences
Curacao
Bonus
€100
Games
15
Year founded
2015
Comfort
5/5
Rivalry
Min deposit
$15
Licences
GSC
Bonus
$25
Games
7
Year founded
2017
Comfort
5/5
Thunderpick
Min deposit
$1
Licences
Curacao
Bonus
No
Games
10+
Year founded
2017
Comfort
5/5
22Bet
Min deposit
$1
Licences
Curacao
Bonus
100%
Games
10+
Year founded
2017
Comfort
5/5
Sportsbet.io
Min deposit
0.0005 BTC
Licences
Curacao
Bonus
No
Games
10+
Year founded
2016
Comfort
5/5
1xbet.com
Min deposit
10$
Licences
Curacao
Bonus
10$
Games
3/5
Year founded
2007
Comfort
3/5
CloudBet
Min deposit
0.001 BTC
Licences
Curacao
Bonus
100%
Games
10+
Year founded
2013
Comfort
5/5
Stake
Min deposit
$50
Licences
Curacao
Bonus
No
Games
10+
Year founded
2017
Comfort
5/5
What You Should Know About CS2
First of all, it must be noted that CS2 is a game released by Valve Corporation, which is the same company behind the Steam video-game marketplace, as well as incredibly successful franchises over the years, such as: Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead, etc.
CS2 is played on PC and the base game is completely free on Steam. However, a $15 price tag is charged to players who wish to upgrade to Prime Status, which reduces the possible number of hackers you can meet in the game.
CS2 has multiple game modes and maps. However, only the competitive matches are part of the esports circuit, as opposed to hostage rescue, for example.
Below we will discuss some of the most important aspects of CS2 and its esports scene, such as event types, the “meta”, and other crucial factors that any CS2 player or bettor needs to know.
Basic mechanics and game features
Competitive CS2 is played in a 5v5 game mode where the two teams facing each other are the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists:
- The objective of the Terrorists is to either plant the bomb on one of two bomb sites (A and B) and wait 40 seconds for it to detonate, or to eliminate the entire CT team before the timer runs out
- The objective of the Counter-Terrrorists is to either deny the Terrorists from planting a bomb before the timer runs out, eliminate all 5 members before the timer, or to defuse the bomb before it detonates using a defuse kit
Each team member has a budget of funds that they can spend to buy weapons and equipment (kevlar, grenades, defuse kit for CTs) during the short cooldown period before every round and different round outcomes and individual actions (getting a kill, defusing the bomb, etc) gives the players a different amount of money, which makes it incredibly important to budget properly and cooperate in order to keep all 5 members of the team adequately equipped for the round.
The Terrorists and Counter-Terrorirsts also get different weapon choices. For example, the T-s can buy AK-47s and Glocks, while the CT-s can buy M4A1-s and USP-s.
A regulation CS2 competitive match consists of 24 rounds and the first team to reach 13 on the board wins. If the match is tied at 12-12, overtime begins and the in-game funds are maximized for each player at $16,000.
Overtime consists of 6 rounds and the first team to 16 wins the match. However, 15-15 leads to a double overtime, and this can go on continuously until one of the teams manages to win.
The individual ratings of players at the end of the match are automatically calculated depending on their kills, deaths, assists, and damage done. Team-kills are always enabled on competitive CS2 servers, whether it be a major or minor event.
The CS2 “metagame” and its importance in betting
If you are familiar with the terminology of esports communities, you may have heard the term ‘meta’ before.
Meta refers to the metagame of a particular esports title and consists of the continuous changes made to the game by its developers and how these changes affect the way players interact with the game and what strategies they come up with to use the game’s mechanics to their advantage. For example, there are a few important dimensions of what the metagame of CS2 consists of, such as:
- Active duty maps and their layout – Currently, there are 7 active duty maps that can be picked in the Competitive game mode – Mirage, Ancient, Anubis, Nuke, Inferno, Vertigo, and Overpass. The map meta is often subject to change and the active duty map pool of CS:GO has included the likes of Dust II, Cache, Train, and Cobblestone at different periods of the game’s nearly 12-year history of competitive play. It is also worth noting that the developers may also change hitboxes in certain areas, allowing players to deal spam damage through thin walls and barriers when firing
- Weapon attributes – The damage, fire rate, and recoil of each of the numerous primary and secondary weapons available to players are subject to change and can greatly affect the flow of competitive matches. The development team may ‘buff’ one weapon and make it more effective, while ‘nerfing’ another. A notable example of this in CS:GO was the 2019 AUG meta, which made the CT weapon overpowered, prompting most professional teams to favor the weapon when playing on the CT side
- Grenades – Each team member can buy 3 different grenades – a flashbang, a smoke grenade, and a frag grenade (CT), or molotov cocktail (T). Each of these grenades can be deployed in strategic areas of the map when players aim in specific angles before releasing them. When developers adjust the layout of maps, the meta of grenade usage may also change. Well-placed grenades can give teams huge tactical advantages, especially in the early stages of the round
Understanding the meta is incredibly important for bettors to understand which team has the competitive advantage on a particular map and how they can use this to tilt the outcomes of matches in their favor.
Player roles in CS2
As already mentioned, a CS2 team consists of 5 players. However, each of them have definite roles in the team depending on their skills, preferred weapons, and style of play. The five core roles in a competitive CS2 team are:
- The in-game leader (IGL) – The main strategist of what the team is going to do in a round, where they will go, what grenades they will use, etc. Typically more focused on team results than showcasing individual performance
- The AWP-er – The player with the deadliest long-range weapon in the game that can kill in a single well-placed shot. These players are characterized by fast reflexes, superior positioning, and awareness. Sometimes teams may sacrifice their equipment in order for this player to have the funds to buy the AWP while the rest of the team gives support using pistols and SMG-s
- The entry fragger – The first player to lead an offensive charge. They are typically characterized by very sharp aim, quick reflexes, and an overall aggressive style of play
- The lurker – The player that takes the opposite route of the rest of the team and tries to gather information about the opponent, such as what weapons they have equipped and where they are on the map at the moment. A successful lurk often ends in a surprise attack on the defenseless side of the opposing team
- The support/secondary AWP-er – This is typically a player with the most balanced skillset that can adequately use a wide range of weapons and switch between positions on the map when needed. Versatility is the name of the game for support players
Knowing what roles each player is best at and how they play on each map is incredibly helpful in understanding what the outcome of a match may be when betting.
Teams and roster changes
Similarly to any traditional team-based sport, CS2 teams can buy and sell player contracts, trying to make adjustments to their rosters by signing players that they deem to be the best fit for other members and the overall play style of the team.
Often teams may sign up completely new players thanks to their impressive performances on popular matchmaking platforms such as FACEIT, allowing them to showcase their abilities on the big stage with a professional team of players.
Keeping track of player transfers and roster changes is crucial to understand the odds of a particular team. For example, you may be surprised to find that your favorite team’s win is priced highly by a bookie, only to find out that one of the star players of the team has taken a leave of absence from that event due to personal reasons or a wrist injury.
Types of competitive CS2 events
There are hundreds of minor and major CS2 events that take place throughout the season. Some local championships may have prize pools as low as $10,000, while majors can reach as much as $2 million.
Notable CS2 events that feature big teams like FaZe Clan, G2, Vitality, Natus Vincere, and others, are called S-tier events and are typically held on a live venue.
These events draw in crowds of thousands in the venue, and hundreds of thousands on the stream.
It is generally advisable to bet on major tournaments, as the teams have an observable track record and the coverage from major sportsbooks is much more likely.
The knockout stages of an event may be held in a BO3 or BO5 format, depending on the competition.
Intel Grand Slam
Intel has been a major sponsor of CS2 tournaments ever since CS:GO was released in 2012, organizing numerous events under its Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) brand.
The Intel Grand Slam awards the team that manages to win the most number of S-tier tournaments in a season and was first launched in 2017.
The team that wins the most number of S-tier events, which includes ESL events and historically included Dreamhack events as well, also wins the Grand Slam and takes home the $1 million prize.
Any team that manages to spoil an opponent’s Grand Slam run by knocking them out of a Grand Slam qualified tournament by beating them in a grand final receives $100,000 as a prize.
Bettors can place bets on which team will be able to win the Intel Grand Slam, which is a riskier position than most, as the position remains open throughout the season and many unpredictable results can alter the odds between events.
HLTV
Half-Life TV, or HLTV for short, is the most popular online news source regarding everything related to Counter-Strike esports. The website provides a host of important information and features that are essential for any CS2 enthusiast – whether you are a bettor or a fan, such as:
- Live event feed with scores
- Match pages with player ratings, livestream links and odds provided by numerous sportsbooks
- A forum page for users to engage in discussions and exchange ideas
- Team and player pages with detailed performance analysis over a period of time
- An update on team rosters, player transfers, new organizations and other notable changes
Following HLTV updates is generally advisable to anyone who bets on CS2 matches, as the website provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on all things CS2.
Skin Betting in CS2
CS2 has plenty of cosmetic skins for players to obtain by buying and opening crates using their Steam balance. These skins vary in terms of rarity and can be bought and sold on the Steam marketplace.
However, they can also be used to make bets on third-party CS bookies with the chance to win even more lucrative skins that can be sold to other players.
The skins marketplace is a large and popular one and thousands of CS2 players, including pros, may engage in skin trading and betting.
The basic mechanics of skin betting are the same as regular betting, with the exception of the prize being cosmetic skins, as opposed to fiat or crypto currency.
CS2 Betting Example
We can look at an example of how a betting market looks on sportsbooks. We will use Stakecom as an example.
In the match-up between Team Vitality and IG, the match winner odds show that Team Vitality is clearly favored, with only 1.04. However, if you do not want to bet on an outright winner, there are numerous other positions.
Here we can bet on the map handicaps, as well as the total number of maps played and the correct score of the match. This is especially helpful when one team is the clear favorite.
Let’s assume that before viewing the odds at Stake.com, your presumption was that Team Vitality would comfortably win against OG and you were planning to wager 100 USDT on Vitality winning the match outright.
However, upon viewing the odds, you see that this would only give a payout of 104 USDT, which is a profit of only 4 USDT.
Conversely, if you bet on Team Vitality winning by a 1.5 map handicap (meaning they will win the BO3 match 2-0), your odds increase to 1.35, or 35 USDT in possible profit.
Due to a wide selection of positions by popular sportsbooks like Stake.com, you can boost your potential winnings significantly without changing your core assumptions regarding the match.
FAQ on how to bet on CS2
Yes. Betting on CS2 is very popular among online gamblers and many sportsbooks offer pretty much every ongoing CS2 event of note to their clients, who can then place bets on their favorite teams and players using fiat or crypto, depending on the bookie of their choice.
Yes. Betting on CS2 matches carries a lot of risk, as matches are often fast and dynamic and scores can change very quickly. While there are some measures to help reduce risk, betting on esports is generally considered to be highly risky.
CS2 majors are events with the largest prize pools that typically take place twice a year. The prize pool of CS2 majors is typically equal to $1 million or more, with the winning team taking home $500,000.
These events typically attract the most viewers, both at the venues, as well as online.
Yes. Betting on CS2 using crypto is very common and many online sportsbooks support a wide range of coins, including Bitcoin, as well as stablecoins and altcoins.
However, a proof of identity is often required for the player to be verified and granted the ability to withdraw their winnings.
Skins are weapon cosmetics that can be traded on the Steam marketplace. Many sportsbooks allow players to place bets using skins in the inventory, as opposed to fiat and crypto balances. However, some marketplaces also allow players to exchange their skins for fiat and crypto.
In some cases, players can use CS2 skins to make bets on traditional sports as well, such as football, basketball, tennis, and more.
Comments (0 comment(s))