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Esports odds 2026: League of Legends, Dota 2, and Valorant predictions
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LIVESports & Entertainment· July 20, 2026

Esports odds 2026: League of Legends, Dota 2, and Valorant predictions

Updated just now
Esports odds 2026: League of Legends, Dota 2, and Valorant predictions

Key highlights

  • Esports is not one game. League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Valorant, fighting games, racing simulations, and since 2025 chess at the Esports World Cup each trade as their own set of prediction markets.
  • League of Legends is the largest esports prediction market: more volume trades on it than on any other title, and its franchised leagues carry the deepest season-long markets in the category. The live cards below track the LCK and LPL season winners and the Worlds winning region.
  • Venue decides what you can act on. The season markets below sit on Polymarket's international exchange, which blocks US persons; the Kalshi match cards are on a CFTC-regulated exchange and tradeable from the US. Check the venue on every card before the price.

Esports prediction markets put live prices on competitive video gaming: who wins a match, a season, a world championship. The category is not one game. It spans multiplayer battle arenas like League of Legends and Dota 2, tactical shooters like Counter-Strike and Valorant, fighting games, racing simulations, and since 2025 chess, which the Esports World Cup added to its lineup. Each title has its own publisher, its own league structure and its own calendar, so each trades as its own market.

League of Legends is where to start because it is the largest esports market by traded volume, and the title whose season-long questions carry the deepest books. Three fields anchor this page: which team wins the LCK, Korea's league; which team wins the LPL, China's league; and which region wins the World Championship. The regional question carries real history. Every Worlds champion from 2013 through 2025 came from Korea or China; the last winner from anywhere else was Taipei Assassins in 2012. Worlds 2026 runs across Los Angeles, Allen (Texas) and Brooklyn from October 15 to November 14.

The rest of the calendar trades differently. Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and Valorant carry heavy volume, but nearly all of it sits in match markets that settle the same day. Tournament futures exist for The International, the Counter-Strike Majors and the Valorant Champions Tour, and those books only fill in as each event approaches. The snapshot table below shows where the money trades today; the cards further down cover every season and tournament field with a live book, plus the week's most liquid Kalshi match markets. The spread on each card tells you which books are deep.

What moves esports prediction markets.

Esports prices move on a small set of recurring forces, and they repeat season after season even as the rosters change.
  • Rosters turn over between seasons. A team is five players and a coaching staff, and any of them can move in an off-season transfer window. One import or one star departure reprices a season book overnight.
  • The game itself changes. Publishers ship balance patches on a rolling cycle, and a patch that weakens a team's signature style is a repricing event with no equivalent in traditional sport. Check which patch a tournament is played on before buying the favorite.
  • Format decides variance. A best-of-one is close to a coin flip between even teams, while a best-of-five strongly favors the better side, so the same two teams can be fairly priced differently in different rounds.
  • Regional strength moves slowly. Korea and China won every League of Legends World Championship from 2013 through 2025, and cross-region events at midseason are the market's main new information on whether that is changing.
  • Liquidity follows the calendar. Match books run deep all year; tournament-winner books fill in during the weeks before the event. A futures price quoted months out often reflects an empty book, not a considered view.

How esports prediction markets work.

One contract, one outcome: Every card below is a YES/NO contract that pays $1 if the named outcome happens. A season field lists one contract per team, and exactly one can resolve YES. Read the resolution terms on the contract itself: the Worlds market, for example, resolves on the region of the winning team, not on any specific team.

The number shown is the asking price: The percentage on a card is what sellers are currently asking, not the midpoint between buyers and sellers. On a liquid book the two sit close together. On a thin book the ask runs several points above the midpoint, so check the bid underneath before treating the headline number as the market's probability.

A full field should sum to about 100 percent: Exactly one team can win a season, so midpoint prices across a complete field should add to roughly 100 percent. Summing the asking prices always lands higher, because that counts the spread once per team. A field that sums far above 100 percent at the midpoint is a thin book, not free money.

Check the venue before the price: The season and tournament fields below are listed on Polymarket's international exchange, which blocks US persons; those prices are information a US reader can use, not contracts a US reader can trade. The LCK match cards are on Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated exchange, and are tradeable from the US.

Match markets are the deep end: Most esports volume trades match by match, in contracts that open and settle within days. The most liquid of this week's match books are included below and refreshed as they settle; the market scanner carries the full set live alongside every other market this site tracks.

Total Volume
Active Markets
Platforms
Counting only the live markets on this page. The esports market snapshot below covers everything tracked on both platforms.

Season timeline

Jul 22
LPL split 3 begins
PM Impact: The Chinese league returns; the split 3 result feeds LPL Worlds qualification and the LPL season contract
Jul 29
LCK full round robin resumes
PM Impact: The full ten-team LCK slate returns in a shortened double round-robin; fewer games means more variance in seeding
Aug 13 to 23
The International, Shanghai
PM Impact: Dota 2's world championship: groups August 13 to 16, main event at the Oriental Sports Center August 20 to 23. TI futures books firm up here
Aug 23
Esports World Cup concludes in Paris
PM Impact: The Cup wraps with 25 events across 24 titles and a record $75 million prize pool; it is the first EWC held outside Saudi Arabia
Sep 13
LCK playoffs conclude
PM Impact: The top four qualify for Worlds; the LCK season contract resolves
Sep 24 to Oct 18
Valorant Champions, Shanghai
PM Impact: Valorant's world championship; 16 teams for $2.25 million. Champions futures books firm up here
Oct 15 to 18
Worlds play-in, Riot Games Arena, Los Angeles
PM Impact: Four teams contest a double-elimination best-of-five for the final slot in the Swiss stage; only the bracket winner advances
Oct 23 to 31
Worlds Swiss stage, Allen, Texas
PM Impact: Sixteen teams play to three wins or three losses; the field for the region market takes shape here
Nov 3 to 8
Worlds quarterfinals and semifinals, Allen, Texas
PM Impact: Single-elimination best-of-five; the region market moves most on these results
Nov 14
Worlds final, Barclays Center, Brooklyn
PM Impact: The Worlds region question is answered here
Dec 31
Backstop date on the Worlds region contract
PM Impact: If no winner is determined by this date, the market resolves to Other, a residual outcome the region card above does not list

Esports market snapshot

Markets tracked across Polymarket and Kalshi with at least $1,000 traded, grouped by title. InsidePredictions analysis, as of July 20, 2026. Rocket League, StarCraft II and the major fighting games have no market that clears that floor.
TitleMarkets trackedVolume tradedSeason or tournament marketsTheir volume
League of Legends422$122.5M55$6.1M
Dota 2144$47.5M20$1.2M
Counter-Strike 2779$40.2M73$2.5M
Valorant258$23.0M13under $0.1M
Call of Duty53$1.9M8$0.8M
Rainbow Six15$0.2M0none
Honor of Kings13$0.1M0none
Mobile Legends6under $0.1M0none
Overwatch3under $0.1M0none

Esports milestones, 2011 to 2026

YearMilestoneWhy it matters
2011First League of Legends World Championship; Fnatic win in JonkopingThe start of the annual championship that the Worlds region market prices
2012Taipei Assassins win WorldsStill the last Worlds champion from outside Korea and China
2013SK Telecom T1 take Korea's first Worlds titleThe start of a Korea and China run that reached thirteen straight titles
2018Invictus Gaming take China's first Worlds titleEstablished the LPL as the second superpower region
2020Call of Duty League debut season; Kalshi designated a contract market by the CFTC in NovemberFranchised city-based esports arrives, and the US-regulated venue for esports contracts gets its designation
2021The International reaches a $40 million prize pool in BucharestStill the single-event prize record in esports entering the 2026 season
2024First Esports World Cup in Riyadh: $62.5 million across 23 eventsA single annual super-event spanning most major titles
2025Esports World Cup adds chess; T1 win a third straight WorldsThe category boundary widens while LoL dominance concentrates
2026EWC moves to Paris with a record $75 million pool; Team Falcons win their first Counter-Strike Major at IEM Cologne; The International returns to Shanghai; Worlds heads to the United StatesA record prize pool year, and the first Worlds hosted in the United States since 2022

Every League of Legends World Championship, 2011 to 2025

Fifteen editions. Every champion from 2013 through 2025 came from Korea or China. The host column is the city that hosted the final; most editions tour several cities.
YearChampionRegionRunner-upHost of the final
2011FnaticEurope (now LEC)against All authorityJonkoping, Sweden
2012Taipei AssassinsTaiwan (now LCP)Azubu FrostLos Angeles, US
2013SK Telecom T1South Korea (LCK)Royal ClubLos Angeles, US
2014Samsung WhiteSouth Korea (LCK)Royal ClubSeoul, South Korea
2015SK Telecom T1South Korea (LCK)KOO TigersBerlin, Germany
2016SK Telecom T1South Korea (LCK)Samsung GalaxyLos Angeles, US
2017Samsung GalaxySouth Korea (LCK)SK Telecom T1Beijing, China
2018Invictus GamingChina (LPL)FnaticIncheon, South Korea
2019FunPlus PhoenixChina (LPL)G2 EsportsParis, France
2020Damwon GamingSouth Korea (LCK)SuningShanghai, China
2021Edward GamingChina (LPL)DWG KIAReykjavik, Iceland
2022DRXSouth Korea (LCK)T1San Francisco, US
2023T1South Korea (LCK)Weibo GamingSeoul, South Korea
2024T1South Korea (LCK)Bilibili GamingLondon, England
2025T1South Korea (LCK)KT RolsterChengdu, China

Worlds titles by region

Totals through Worlds 2025. Korea and China's streak is about winning, not reaching the final: Fnatic made the 2018 final and G2 Esports the 2019 final, both from Europe, both inside the streak.
RegionTitlesRunner-up finishesFinals appearances
South Korea (LCK)10717
China (LPL)358
EMEA (LEC)134
Asia-Pacific (LCP)101
North America (LCS)000

Esports records

As of July 2026.
RecordHolderDetail
Largest single-event prize poolThe International 2021 (Dota 2)$40,018,195, crowdfunded through the battle pass; Bucharest
Largest multi-event prize poolEsports World Cup 2026$75 million across 25 events in Paris, up from $62.5 million at the first edition in 2024
Most-watched esports matchWorlds 2024 final, T1 vs Bilibili Gaming6.86 million peak viewers, excluding Chinese platforms (Esports Charts); the 2025 final came second at 6.75 million
Most Worlds titlesT1 (previously SK Telecom T1)Six: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2023, 2024, 2025
First back-to-back CDL championOpTic Texas (Call of Duty)Won the 2024 and 2025 Call of Duty League Championships

Key terms

TermDefinition
WorldsThe League of Legends World Championship, the season-ending tournament that crowns the global champion.
The InternationalDota 2's season-ending world championship, and historically the biggest single prize pool in esports.
MajorA Counter-Strike championship sanctioned by Valve, held roughly twice a year and treated as the title's world championship.
MetaThe set of strategies, characters and item builds that are strongest on the current version of the game. The meta shifts with every patch, and teams built for the old meta lose value.
PatchA software update from the game's publisher that changes character strength, maps or items. Tournaments are played on a locked patch, announced in advance.
Best-of-one / best-of-fiveSeries length. Longer series reduce variance and favor the stronger team; a best-of-one keeps upsets live.
Swiss stageA group format where teams play others on the same win-loss record until they reach three wins (advance) or three losses (out). Used at Worlds and the Counter-Strike Majors.
Franchised leagueA league with permanent, bought-in teams and no relegation, like the LCK and LPL. Season-long markets exist mostly for franchised leagues because the field is fixed in advance.
Mutually exclusive fieldA set of contracts where exactly one outcome can resolve YES. Owning every outcome pays exactly one dollar, so midpoint prices across the field should sum to about 100 percent.
BookThe stack of open buy and sell orders on a contract. A deep book absorbs a large trade without the price moving; a thin book means wide spreads and prices that jump on small trades.
SpreadThe gap between the best bid and the best ask. On a thin esports book it can run several points wide, which is a real cost, not a rounding detail.
Designated contract marketA futures exchange regulated by the CFTC. Kalshi holds this designation; Polymarket's international exchange does not.

Live esports markets

events · markets · Updated just now
POLY
League of Legends markets
Which region wins League of Legends Worlds ?
LCK (South Korea)
POLY
League of Legends markets
Who wins the LCK season?
Hanwha Life Esports+
POLY
League of Legends markets
Who wins the LPL season?
Bilibili Gaming
POLY
League of Legends markets
Who wins the LEC Summer Split?
G2 Esports
KLSH
League of Legends marketsRESOLVED
LCK match winners this week
BNK FEARX (vs DRX)
POLY
Dota markets
Who wins The International ?
TEAM VISION+

Frequently asked questions

  1. How do esports prediction markets work?

    Each market is a contract that pays $1 if a defined outcome happens and nothing if it does not, with the price in between acting as the market's live probability. Resolution follows the official result published by the game's organizer: Riot Games for the LCK, LPL and Worlds, Valve for The International. Two shapes dominate esports. Match markets settle within hours and carry most of the volume. Season and tournament fields list one contract per team, exactly one of which resolves YES, so a full field's midpoint prices should sum to roughly 100 percent.

  2. Where can you trade esports prediction markets?

    Polymarket's international exchange carries the deepest esports books, including the League of Legends season fields on this page, but it blocks US persons. In the US, Kalshi is the CFTC-regulated venue: it lists match markets across League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike and Call of Duty, and has carried tournament-winner markets such as the Call of Duty League Championship and the Esports World Cup chess final. Prices on a venue you cannot access are still useful as information; they are just not tradeable from where you sit.

  3. What is the biggest esports prediction market?

    League of Legends, by a wide margin. As of July 2026 it accounts for about $122 million in traded volume on the platforms this site follows, more than Dota 2 and Counter-Strike combined. Counter-Strike has the most individual listings, and marquee matches produce the biggest single books: one Esports World Cup playoff match cleared $11 million. The deepest season-long books tracked here are the LCK and LPL winner fields above.

  4. How does the Worlds winning region market resolve?

    On the region of the winning team, not the team itself. Buying Korea is not buying T1 or Gen.G specifically; it is a position that whoever lifts the trophy comes out of the LCK. The position survives the favorite being knocked out as long as a regional rival advances, and it cannot express the view that one specific team is underrated. If your view is about a team rather than a region, the LCK and LPL season fields are the closer instrument.

  5. What happens to a season contract when a team is eliminated?

    Nothing automatic. The contract stays open until the event resolves, so the price collapses toward zero rather than the position being closed for you. You do not need to wait: selling at the bid exits the position whenever a bid is standing, and on a team drifting toward elimination that bid usually fades before the result makes it official. On the thin books this page warns about, the bid can also sit well below fair value or disappear entirely. On the other side of the same contract, NO positions on an eliminated team converge to their full $1 payout at resolution.

  6. Does the host country have an advantage at Worlds?

    The record says no. North America has never won the World Championship or reached a final across the first fifteen editions, 2011 through 2025, and hosting has not changed that: Korea won in Los Angeles in 2013 and 2016, and in San Francisco in 2022. Worlds 2026 in Los Angeles, Allen and Brooklyn is the next test, and the live region cards above show what the market makes of it.

  7. Is chess an esport?

    Increasingly, yes. Competitive online chess has a large streaming audience and a cash-prize circuit, and the Esports World Cup added chess to its lineup in 2025. It sits at the boundary of the category: turn-based rather than fast-twitch, so some keep it separate from video-game esports. Either way, chess trades in its own prediction markets, including FIDE world championship contracts on Kalshi, rather than on this page.

Robert C.
Robert C.

Founder & CMO

Legal training meets poker bankroll management. 10 years of content marketing scaled to millions of pageviews. Runs the editorial side, turning platform research and live market data into the answers traders actually search for.

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