VCT Masters Madrid was intense, to say the least. With a $ 500,000 prize pool and record-breaking 1.66m peak viewers, it is the most watched VALORANT event to date.
The finals had American Sentinels facing South Korea’s Gen.G Esports, who appeared to have the advantage. But the Grand Finals went back and forth, ultimately ending with Sentinels winning their second big global event 3-2.
With incredible plays and talented players on the roster, Sentinels are looking to dominate this year’s VALORANT scene. But was this the expected outcome? We have some betting insights to show you how VALORANT fans predicted the event would go!
Live vs. Pre-Match Betting
Just as in many sports, most people who are betting on VCT matches prefer live betting. This type of betting is made during the match itself, usually in reaction to how the teams are performing or actions that stand out.
It’s usually a bit more even—like in CS2’s Copenhagen Major—but VALORANT bettors seem to place more bets live than Counter-Strike fans. There can be many reasons for this, but one can very well be that the VALORANT scene is newer and has less content.
In 2024, there will be 6 S-tier tournaments for each region in VALORANT. These are among the only opportunities fans have to see their favourite players and teams compete at the highest level.
In contrast, Counter-Strike currently has 19 S-tier tournaments announced for 2024. Additionally, many Counter-Strike 2 teams and players have been around for a long time, with players such as FaZe Clan in-game leader Karrigan celebrating his 18th year as a competitive Counter-Strike player (starting in 2006). This means that fans have more in-depth knowledge of the relative performance of many players and teams, potentially making them more informed in making pre-match betting decisions.
| Live/Pre-Match Split | % of Total |
| Live | 64% |
| Pre-match | 36% |
Most Bet-On Teams
It’s no surprise that Sentinels was the most bet-on team. Not only are they a top team that’s known around the world, but they lasted longer in the tournament than every other team, giving more opportunities to bettors. The Grand Final was also a juicy opportunity for bettors since Sentinels were seen as underdogs but still had a good possibility of surprising fans with a W, earning fans a good amount of cash.
| Most Bet-on Teams | % of Total |
| Sentinels | 1.91% |
| Gen.G | 1.75% |
| LOUD | 1.33% |
| Paper Rex | 1.23% |
| Karmine Corp | 1.05% |
Most Bet-On Players
Nobody’s surprised to see Zachary “zekken” Patrone at the top of the list. He is a standout player on Sentinels thanks to his clutch plays, high impact on match outcomes, and ability to be incredibly versatile. You almost couldn’t go wrong keeping an eye on zekken whenever he was on stream.
| Most Bet-on Players | % of Total |
| zekken (SEN) | 0.66% |
| something (PRX) | 0.63% |
| Karon (GEN) | 0.54% |
| Sacy (SEN) | 0.52% |
| qck (LOUD) | 0.45% |
Most Popular Matches
Gen.G and Sentinels’ Grand Final match is unsurprisingly the top match when it comes to betting activity. But it seems like fans were also busy betting on Sentinels throughout the team’s entire run. EDward Gaming was also on viewers’ minds. This team dominates in China and has a lot of potential, but they weren’t able to take on some of the top teams once it got to the playoffs.
| Most Bet-on Matches | % of Total |
| Gen.G – Sentinels | 14.56% |
| Sentinels – Team Heretics | 8.51% |
| Sentinels – Paper Rex | 8.08% |
| EDward Gaming – Gen.G | 7.32% |
| EDward Gaming – Paper Rex | 6.87% |
Most Popular Bet Offers
Bettors were very invested in the action during VCT Masters Madrid but what was their biggest focus? Much more than half of the betting offers were focused on the match winners, meaning a straightforward bet on which team would win. The second-most popular bet offer was on total kills, which highlights the importance of player props and makes sense since fans were watching zekken and others quite closely.
| Most Popular Bet Offers | % of Total |
| Match Winner | 65.50% |
| Total Kills | 18.05% |
| Map Handicap | 5.13% |
| Round Handicap | 4.21% |
| Round Winner | 2.38% |
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