Getting into Dota2 takes a bit of easing into; with 110 heroes to pick from this aspect alone is challenging. However we’re sure you’ll agree that once you get the hang of the game it’s easy (ish). Betting on Dota2 is the same but given it’s still quite a new concept we’re here with some helpful hints and tips to get you add started.
Know the teams
Whilst eSports doesn’t have separate leagues for professionals and amateurs, it’s typically the professional teams that battle it out in the international events. Before you place a bet on an event, make sure you know the background to the teams playing.
The following teams are the professional teams on the circuit. What makes them professional? They’ve been invited to at least one major event, they have salaried players and they have at least one corporate sponsor.
| Name | Created | Country |
| Can’t Say Wips | 2015 | Australia |
| 40pxpx Team Immunity | 2014 | Australia |
| Rex Regum | 2013 | Indonesia |
| Execration | 2014 | Philippines |
| Mineksi | Unknown | Philippines |
| Invasion e-Sports | 2011 | Malaysia |
| Fnatic | 2015 | Malaysia |
| Redemption | 2015 | Malaysia |
| 5EVA | 2015 | Singapore |
| First Departure | 2014 | Singapore |
| Signature Trust | 2015 | Thailand |
| MVP Phoenix | 2013 | South Korea |
| MVP HOT 6ix | 2013 | South Korea |
| CDEC Gaming | 2014 | China |
| EHOME | 2015 | China |
| Hyper Glory Team | 2014 | China |
| Invictus Gaming | 2011 | China |
| LGD Gaming | 2012 | China |
| Newbee | 2014 | China |
| Team DK | 2014 | China |
| TongFu | Unknown | China |
| Vici Gaming | 2012 | China |
| Arcade.Power Rangers | 2015 | Belarus |
| xGame.kz | 2014 | Kazakhstan |
| HellRaisers | 2014 | Russia |
| Moscow Five | 2014 | Russia |
| Team Empire | 2011 | Russia |
| Vega Squadron | 2014 | Russia |
| Virtus.pro | 2012 | Russia |
| Yellow. Submarine | 2014 | Russia |
| Elysium Gaming | 2014 | Russia |
| sQreen’s Squad | 2015 | Russia |
| aSpera | 2014 | Russia |
| Natus Vincere | 2010 | Russia |
| 4 Clover and Lepricon | 2015 | EU |
| Balkan Bears | 2015 | EU |
| Kaipi | 2015 | EU |
| Team Secret | 2015 | EU |
| Monkey Business | 2015 | EU |
| 4 Anchors + SC | 2014 | Finland |
| Alliance | 2013 | Sweden |
| Lemondogs | 2015 | Sweden |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2015 | Sweden |
| mYinsanity | 2014 | Serbia |
| paiN Gaming | 2014 | Brazil |
| CNB eSports Club | 2014 | Brazil |
| Not Today | 2015 | Peru |
| Union Gaming | Unknown | Peru |
| Unknown.xiu | Unknown | Peru |
| Boreal eSports | 2015 | Canada |
| Evil Geniuses | 2011 | America |
| Team Fire | 2015 | America |
| Root Gaming | Unknown | America |
| Team Archon | 2015 | America |
| compLexity Gaming | 2014 | America |
| Digital Chaos | 2015 | America |
| Cloud9 | 2015 | America |
(Source: dota2.gamepedia.com/Professional_teams)
Follow the teams
All of the professional teams have strong social media presence so make sure you follow them to find out about roster changes, new players, what tournaments they’re taking part in and their current form. This information will be important when making decisions on which team to bet on.
Know the schedule
The International is without a doubt the biggest Dota2 event of the year. With prize money rising to $18M for the 2015 tournament – the largest eSports prize pool to date – the competition is a big deal. The International takes place in July or August each year and to date has been held in Cologne, Germany and Seattle, USA. Teams from all over the world compete and it’s the one every team wants to be at.
In addition to The International there are tons of other events to follow, including ESL One New York (October 3 and 4), the MLG Final, (October 16, 17 and 18) and The Summit 4 (Dec 9 to 13).
Check out our schedule of matches that Dafabet is offering odds on and follow Dafa eSports to get up to the minute announcements of when live odds are launched.
Check the predictions
Read up on the predictions for matches from a variety of sources then make up your own mind on who you want to place a bet on. Dafa eSports is committed to providing unbiased predictions for key Dota2 tournaments; however that doesn’t mean to say you can’t look further afield. We recommend Reddit if you want to get predictions from the eSports community.
Understand betting terminology
The good thing about eSports betting is that the way you can bet on matches is simple. Through Dafabet you can bet on an ‘outright winner’ which means you only need to decide which team you think is going to win the tournament.
Given that eSports tournaments are relatively short the good news is that you won’t have to wait a long time for your bet to be settled. By comparison if you were betting on a basketball or football league and you place a bet at the beginning of the season it’s long time until you can expect to see any winnings.
Aside from ‘outright winner’, there are a few other terms that you’ll need to know when placing bets on eSports events:
| Bet | To risk something in the outcome of an event |
| Bookie | Short for Sportsbook, this is the person/company that accepts bets |
| Even Money | A wager when there is no juice. The bets are 1/1 or +100 |
| Exotic | Any wager other than a straight bet |
| Favorite | The team that is expected to win an event |
| Future (bet) | Odds are posted in advance of an event |
| Getting Value | Getting the best odds on the betting line |
| Hedging | Betting strategy that involves betting on both sides to minimize losses or guarantee a minimum amount of winnings |
| Limit | The cap on the betting amount of an event |
| Line | Current betting odds on a particular event. Lines are updated in real time. |
| Longshot | A sporting team that is unlikely to win |
| Odds | The likelihood of the betting outcome expressed in odds |
| Off The Board | When a betting line is taken down and a bookmaker is no longer accepting bets |
| Opening Line | The first betting line posted for a sporting event |
| Outright Winner | A bet placed on the outcome of an entire league or competition rather than an individual match |
| Reverse bet | Two IF bets placed by you |
| Risk | Wager amount or the amount bet on a game |
| Round Robin | Convenient way to place multiple parlays quickly |
| Sharp | A professional or experienced better |
| Sides | The two teams playing the event |
| Single | A bet placed on one outcome |
| Steam | When a betting line moves rapidly and needs to be re-posted because a mass of bettors are drawn to it |
| Stake /Wager | The amount of a bet |
| Straight Bet | Wager on a single event |
Register for a betting site
When you’re up to date with the current professional teams, you know when they are playing and you know how to bet it’s time to set up an account with a reputable betting site and place your first bet. We recommend that you pick one that is safe and secure, offers multiple payment methods for placing bets and operates with your own currency.
