The Most Popular Esports Games You Should Learn to Play in 2025
The esports industry is currently in a constant state of expansion. If you don’t play esports yet, it might be a good time to learn—but what game should you try to play?
Esports aren’t only a source of money for professional players, but they have also become a part of the sports betting industry—allowing fans to bet on their favorite teams and more. Keep reading to learn about the most popular esports games in 2025.
The Most Popular Esports Games
1. Counter-Strike 2
Are you surprised to see this game at number one? Honestly, we are too, as League of Legends has always held this spot. That being said, though League of Legends players make more money, Counter-Strike games receive far more bets—making up a massive 57% of all esports bets placed.
Counter-Strike is a tactical shooter game where the players compete in teams to complete missions. It has become increasingly popular over the years and was watched for an impressive 24,575,159 hours.
2. League of Legends
Of course, in second place is the ever-famous League of Legends, which boasts an impressive 19,090,8511 watch hours. Additionally, 26% of all esports bets are placed on League of Legends games.
League of Legends is a MOBA game. MOBA stands for “multiplayer online battle arena,” and it is a game in which players compete on teams of five to win battles. The players choose characters and then work together to gather enough strength and special items to beat the opposing team.
3. Dota2
Very similar to League of Legends, Dota2 claims third place on our list with an impressive 55,186,616 hours watched. Although these hours far surpass those watched by the games in both first and second place, only 10% of esports bets are placed on Dota2 games.
Dota2 is another MOBA game, though it notably is much harder to learn and play than the popular League of Legends. This game is an unofficial Warcraft III sequel and often has the largest prize pools of all other esports games at tournaments.
4. Valorant
Valorant is fourth on the list with a massive 46,922,555 million hours viewed, placing it second in terms of hours watched to only Dota2. Valorant, though it is similar to Counter-Strike 2, is not nearly as popular as the other games on this list, as it is only responsible for 5% of all esports bets placed.
Valorant is a mix of Counter-Strike 2, and Overwatch 2, which viewers claim makes multi-player watching more interesting than observing Counter-Strike 2 games. That being said, the gaming community considers Valorant to be technically less difficult than CS2.
5. Call of Duty Black Ops 6
After Valorant, game viewership suffers a steep drop off, with the fifth entry on our list having a measly 2.68 million view hours. Despite the low viewership, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is responsible for 2% of all esports bets placed—which is still quite impressive when you think about it.
Call of Duty is a shooter game similar to Counter-Strike 2, though fans report it isn’t nearly as fun to play as CS2. One of the issues with this game is that the creators, Activision, constantly put out new versions, making it difficult to unite and play on one of them. That being said, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 did make waves in 2024 and is slowly beginning to garner its own fan base.
6. All Other Esports Games
If you did the math, you’ll notice that 1% is missing for bets placed on esports games in 2024. Well, this 1% is made up of all other games not listed here, with the most notable being Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, PUBG, and Rocket League. All of these games are widely different, so it’s a bit weird to group them together, but they aren’t big enough to have their own devoted esports betting percentages just yet.
Betting on Esports
Betting on esports has become insanely popular. Not just because watching esports has become more popular, but because there are so many things to bet on.
While the exact experience of betting on esports will vary from platform to platform, most bettors report that betting on esports is similar to betting on physical sports but with a large array of fun prop bets. Most platforms allow individuals to vote on the outcome of esports games as well as random aspects of gameplay—making for a fun and unique esports betting experience.
For as fun as betting on esports is, before you engage we recommend learning about your esport of choice—otherwise you may find yourself confused by the large number of betting options available.
How to Learn About Esports
Like anything else in life, there are multiple ways to learn about esports. We recommend employing a combination of the following to ensure your education is well-rounded.
· Watch the games and tournaments
· Attempt to play the game yourself
· Read about the game in forums like Reddit
· Watch YouTube videos about gameplay
· Follow esports players on social media
One thing that is so nice about the esports industry is that they are very welcoming to newcomers, more so than other sports (in our opinion). No, this doesn’t mean you can just decide to become a player overnight, but it does mean that most players are happy to discuss their game with newbies.
Many players are busy during the tournament season but run Twitch accounts during their off time. Additionally, the length of an esports career is typically very short—meaning there are a lot of retired players out there who spend their time coaching or making tutorials—which are perfect for those who want to get involved but don’t know where to start.
If you just want to bet on esports, education is still important, but watching the game and learning mechanics is much more important than connecting with former players. Additionally, you will want to take the time to make an account on the sportsbook you want to play on—that way, you can familiarize yourself with the bets available as you learn. Good luck!
