eSports - the development of eSports disciplines in Russia

Russia became the first state to recognize eSports as a sports discipline. The relevant decision was published by the Russian Sports Federation in March 2001. In 2022, Russian esports teams have become one of the strongest in the international arena. 

The e-sports culture in the country is actively developing – sponsors regularly open clubs for training young e-sportsmen in large cities.

Russian bookmakers accept bets on popular eSports disciplines.

From "Kontra" in the club to professional arenas

The esports culture has been gaining momentum since the late 90s. Amateur computer clubs opened all over Russia. The product of the Canadian developer Ming Li "Counter Strike" won a special location among the players. The game appeared in 1999, but already in the 2000s it became the most popular multiplayer shooter in the world.

In the early 2000s, in Russia, club owners began to hold amateur tournaments, where players fought for the championship title on a regional and city scale. The organizers did not have time to hold professional cybersport tournaments - in 2006 the Russian Sports Federation withdrew recognition due to non-compliance with established sports standards. Esports in 2006 did not have a centralized sports federation and offices in half of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

After 10 years, video game fans were able to fulfill the requirements of the Sports Federation - in 2016, the status of a sports discipline was returned to e-sports based on the order of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation dated April 29.04.2016, 470 No. XNUMX.

In 2017, the first professional CS:GO and Dota tournaments organized by the ESforce holding took place across the country. ESforce is a major Russian esports platform that is the owner of the Virtus PRO club, the leader in terms of the number of prizes won at international tournaments of the CIS level.

According to the TWITCH service, the top performances of esports teams gained over 10 million unique views in Russia. The high level of popularity attracted the attention of sponsors, among which there are well-known Russian companies:

• Black Monster;
• Mail.Ru Group;
• Tinkoff;
• City Mobile;
• YOTA.

In 2020, esports has reached the peak of popularity due to the cancellation of most offline sporting events due to the coronovirus pandemic. Since the end of 2019, esports tournaments have switched to online mode - athletes compete remotely, only playoff stages are held in real arenas, more often only final meetings.

Cybersportsmen from Russia have been actively participating in the international arena since 2017. Teams NAVI, Virtus PRO and forZE have become industry legends.

Popularity among bookmakers

Bookmakers are actively accepting bets on the outcomes of eSports confrontations. The range of events that you can bet on depends on the quality of the line of a particular bookmaker. Ligastavok offers users to bet on the outcomes of matches within 9 popular video games.

The most popular betting games:

• Counter Strike: Global Offensive;
• Dota2;
• League of Legends;
• Valorant;
• Rainbow 6;
• FIFA 2022;
• Call of duty.

Players can bet on team wins, number of kills, or select unique in-game markets for each discipline.

Most bookmakers provide live broadcasts for betting on eSports matches in real time.

Esports Betting Strategies

To achieve stable results at a distance, players use game strategies:

1. Bets on the winner - the player makes a bet on the obvious favorite in LIVE, when a strong team has already won 1 round. The coefficient of such bets is low, but due to the increased cross-country ability, the players get a plus.
2. Odd/Even Bets – A player bets on the even number of kills within a game or a separate round. In case of losing a bet, he makes a double bet on the same market. Winning compensates for the cost of the game series and will bring profit.
3. First kill bets - the player chooses a more active and experienced team, makes a bet that this team will receive the "First Blood" achievement. The strategy is relevant for CS:GO and Dota 2.

Many players independently create their own game strategies based on their own experience.

Upcoming tournaments

Upcoming tournaments to bet on:

Tournament	Discipline	Date
LVP Unity	CS: GO	22.08.22 – 22.11.22
World Championship 2022	League of Legend	29.09.22 – 05.11.22
BTS PRO Series	Dota 2	21.10.22 – 08.12.22
Twitch rivals	Maincraft	23.11.22 - 28.11.22

Local tournaments and qualifying stages of grand championships are held on a regular basis. You can bet on eSports at any time - this is one of the advantages of the discipline. 

Author: Alexander Savchenko