Lists of the "best esports teams to bet on" go out of date quickly. Rosters change between seasons, champions miss the next tournament, and a famous name can belong to a completely different group of players a year later. Instead of giving you a list of names to back, this guide shows how to judge esports teams yourself, using recent MLBB and Dota 2 results as examples.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang gives a clear example. At the M6 World Championship in Kuala Lumpur, which ended in December 2024, Fnatic ONIC Philippines beat Team Liquid ID 4-1 in the grand final. It was the fifth straight M World Championship won by a Philippine team, from M2 to M6.
A year later, ONIC Philippines did not even reach M7. They were knocked out in the MPL Philippines Season 16 playoffs, and Liquipedia notes it was the third world championship in a row where the reigning champion failed to defend the title.
M7 itself, held in Jakarta in January 2026, was won by another Philippine side, Aurora Gaming PH, ahead of Alter Ego, Selangor Red Giants and Team Liquid PH. The country stayed on top, but the team at the top changed. For more on that M6 run, see our report on Fnatic ONIC PH's M6 win.
Dota 2 shows how fast a strong team can disappear. Gaimin Gladiators reached the grand final of The International in both 2023 and 2024. In 2025 the organisation withdrew from TI after a dispute with its players, and by October 2025 the roster had split up and the team was listed as disbanded.
On the other side, organisations can win with completely new line-ups. Team Liquid won TI in 2017 and again in 2024, seven years apart, with different players. Team Spirit won in 2021, 2023 and 2026. The full record is in our Dota 2 TI winners list.
When you look at esports teams before a match, check:
A team's last ten matches tell you more than its trophy cabinet. Look at:
Reliable sources for this are official league pages and long-running esports wikis such as Liquipedia. Social media rumours and highlight clips are not.
Balance patches can weaken the heroes a team is built around. A team that was dominant on one patch may look ordinary after the next. Check when the latest patch landed and how the team has played since.
Match format matters too. In a best-of-one, a single mistake or a surprise draft can decide the result, so upsets are more common. Longer series such as best-of-five or best-of-seven give the stronger team more chances to adjust. If you are unsure, the longer format is where favourites are more reliable, though never certain.
Once you have an opinion on a match, compare it with the odds. Decimal odds of 1.25 imply about an 80% chance; odds of 4.00 imply 25%. If your research does not give you a clear reason to disagree with the market, it is often better not to bet on that match at all. Skipping matches is part of a sensible approach, not a missed chance.
Betting is only for adults 21 and over, and no result is ever certain. Even world champions lose. If betting starts to feel like pressure rather than fun, use the tools on the OKBet Games responsible gaming page.
The best esports teams change every season. A good habit of checking rosters, recent form, patches and formats will stay useful long after any list of names has gone out of date.
