Global Esports Calendar

The global esports event calendar is busier than ever, with major titles such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 featuring across numerous competitions, bringing year-round betting opportunities to the public.

In the first six months of 2025, more than 50 tournaments took place across Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2 and League of Legends, esports’ so-called ‘big three’ titles. The second half of 2025 promises to bring greater engagement.

The esports betting calendar above is a custom-built tool created by iGamingBusiness in partnership with esports experts DATA.BET. It offers an overview of the most important esports events from a gambling industry perspective – including viewership figures, and an exclusive industry-first estimation of betting handle for major tournaments.

Expert analysis
iGB interviewed Bogdan Holovnov, head of esports at DATA.BET, for a snapshot of what to expect for the year ahead.

Holovnov said one of the most significant events on the esports betting calendar this year was the 2025 Esports World Cup, staged in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from July to August. The tournament series featured events in 25 different esports titles, from Call of Duty to EA Sports FC to online chess. Alongside its breadth, what made the tournament really stand out is its $70 million total prize purse –funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Following the Esports World Cup, the BLAST Open London 2025 Counter-Strike 2 tournament will kick off a string of events in the famous esports title, including Season 22 of the ESL Pro League and the StarLadder StarSeries.

According to Holovnov, recent performance data from May 2024 to May 2025 shows that Counter-Strike 2 accounted for nearly 50% of total esports turnover, over 51% of total profit and 46% of all placed bets by engaging 61% of all unique bettors. “The dominance is especially pronounced in emerging markets,” he said.

Meanwhile, League of Legends will feature in the online EMEA Masters Summer 2025, while top players will compete in Dota 2 at The International 2025 in Germany – which traditionally generates one of the year’s highest esports audiences and betting volumes.

Another such event – the League of Legends World Championship – will run from October 1st to November 1st. With a $5 million prize pool, it is a truly global title from both an audience and betting perspective; this year, the final will be held in several cities across China. November will be esports’ busiest month of the year, with Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 leading the action.

Alongside the ‘big three’ titles, Valorant is driving extremely high betting engagement this year,  despite being a relatively newer title. The Valorant Champions 2025, which will take place in France in September and October, has quickly emerged as one of the year’s major competitions in terms of betting volume and eyeballs globally.

In 2025, Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends and Dota 2 are consistently generating the most significant betting volumes due to their established ecosystems, regular tier-one tournaments and global fan bases, Holonov said.
“This year’s esports industry is marked by an overloaded tournament schedule, a revival of established tournament operators, the emergence of new influential events and increasing competition among organisers to create more attractive conditions for teams.”

“Additionally, rising activity in lower-tier scenes and the development of mobile and cross-genre esports titles are shaping the next growth phase.”