With a lot of sports on hiatus at the moment, it seems that the top sports professionals and teams across the world are looking to the world of esports to help them get their sporting fix. Over the last few weeks, we have seen a number of events organised, in addition to the usual esports tournament schedule, that have seen top sporting superstars taking part, or professional teams and organisations entering a competitor to represent them.

You may remember that we looked at esports in more detail in an article a couple of weeks back. However, many of the events being organised now are in addition to all the standard esports events and tournaments that are arranged as standard in a typical esports season and what is unusual is that it is sporting teams and organisations that are generally the driving force behind these hastily arranged esports events.

It is even possible to bet on some of these events at sites like bet365 Sport that offer a range of esports bets, while some specialist esports betting sites may even offer betting on some of the lesser tournaments too.

Remember, esports betting is not yet quite as prevalent in the U.S states where betting is legal as it is in Europe at the moment, but that situation is changing and somewhat rapidly. It is therefore a good idea to get signed up on a site that offers betting in readiness for this. You can do so in Indiana with the latest BetRivers Affiliate Code “HOOSIERBONUS” which will get you set up quickly on the BetRivers site, while in Pennsylvania the latest PlaySugarHouse bonus code offer will get you a good deal signing up in this state too.

So, what are these celebrity esports events that are worth a look if you want a bet or two that is different to the norm? We have decided to take you through some of the events that have been played, which are being played and which are set to be played or organised in the future.

Leyton Orient’s Ultimate Quaran-Team Cup

Although the first version of the tournament has been completed, I would not rule out another running of the Leyton Orient organised FIFA 20 based Ultimate Quaran-Team Cup competition. 128 professional teams entered players into the tournament to compete on their behalf, this ranged from fans of the club that played FIFA, to FIFA 20 professionals signed up to clubs (such as Ajax) as well as professional players representing their club (Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend represented the Eagles in the tournament).

After several rounds of action, in the end it was Wolves and Groningen that faced off in the final with the English team coming out as the 2-1 winners in the event. I would be very surprised if this is the only running of this tournament, although whether another will be arranged over the next few weeks, or an annual tournament takes place each year, is not so easy to ascertain.

The English FA’s FootballsStayingHome Cup

Another FIFA 20 esports tournament to look out for, and which may see betting made available for is the English FA organised FootballsStayingHome Cup. The tournament began last week with 16 English International footballers from the mens and women’s teams as well as the England U21 team competing in a straight knockout tournament.

Each player would play using the England team to ensure fairness.

The 16 players that entered the event were drawn into eight first round matches that ended as follows:

  • Marcus Rashford 1-2 Jadon Sancho
  • Jordan Nobbs 0-4 Eddie Nketiah
  • Reiss Nelson 1-3 Ryan Sessegnon
  • Lucy Bronze 1-0 Ellie Roebuck
  • Trent Alexander Arnold 1-3 Max Aarons
  • Todd Cantwell 5-0 Mason Mount
  • Tammy Abraham 5-2 Callum Hudson Odoi
  • Callum Wilson 2-3 James Maddison

Later this week the quarterfinals of the competition will take place with the matches as follows:

  • Jadon Sancho v Eddie Nketiah
  • Ryan Sessegnon v Lucy Bronze
  • Max Aarons v Todd Cantwell
  • Tammy Abraham v James Maddison

With the remaining semifinals and final taking place towards the end of the week. So, if you want to enjoy a bet on this FA-sanctioned event, it is well worth checking out whether the bookmakers are carrying odds on each game in the 24-hours before the matches take place.

eLiga Mexico

With professional football at a halt in Mexico, all 18 teams in the country’s top division, the Liga BBVA, have agreed to enter an esports player to represent their team in a specially organised esports FIFA league, featuring a miniature version of the Mexican league season, followed by an eight-team playoffs to decide the winner.

The good news is that many sports betting sites are covering this tournament and there are already plenty of bets available on the games that are set to take place over the coming weeks.

The tournament is organised into two sections, the first being a 17-match mini-league tournament where each team will play the other teams in the league once. This will then be followed by the top eight teams from the league stage qualifying for a Playoff tournament, a single bracket knockout to decide which team is the overall winner.

The tournament gets underway on Monday 13th April with matches to be played over the coming weeks to decide the makeup of the playoffs.

F1 Esports Races

It is not just in soccer where professionals have decided to turn to Esports. We have already seen a number F1 Bettingof F1 Esports races featuring both professional Formula 1 Drivers like Soffel Vandoorne and Lando Norris, as well as stars from other sports, such as Ian Poulter from golf and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

However, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has organised a Race for the World tournament which started on Sunday 12th April and which will see further races contested on Tuesday 14th and Friday 17th April to draw the tournament to a conclusion.

Leclerc along with a number of fellow drivers including Alexander Albon, Lando Norris, George Russell, Antionio Giovanazzi and Nicholas Latifi from Formula 1, plus Formula E driver Antonio Felix da Costa and Formula 2 drivers Giuliano Alesi and Louis Deletraz will compete against each other on all three nights in what should be an exciting tournament for motor racing fans.

Also competing will be Belgian football Thibaut Courtois, as well as Luca Salvadore from motorbike racing and Luca Albon, the younger brother of Alexander Albon.

Max Verstappen however will not participate after deciding to play in the rival esports event Real Races Never Quit, which is based on Codemasters F1 2019 game.

This could just be the start of a golden age of esports gaming and betting with some of the most familiar names in sport trying their hand at the digitised version of their sport, or even another sport altogether.