CSGOEmpire Leaderboard: How the Races Work
Updated · MyCS2Guru crew
The CSGOEmpire leaderboard looks juicy, bro: big prize pots, names climbing in real time. But it's a volume race, and that changes the maths. Here's how it works according to Empire, and how to think about it before you try. For XP and level rewards, see CSGOEmpire levels.
Grab Your Free Case on CSGOEmpire
How the race works
Empire's help centre keeps it simple:
- Every bet you place during an active race counts.
- Coinflip is excluded.
- The players who wager the most coins win prizes.
- Only total wagered matters. Level and other factors don't.
- Prizes are paid automatically at the end.
Race lengths and prize pools are shown on the leaderboard page and can change.
Why volume races are tricky
Ranking depends on how much you wager, not how much you win. Wagering costs you the house edge on average:
| Game | House edge (Empire) | Expected cost per 10,000 coins wagered |
|---|---|---|
| Roulette | 6.66% | ~666 coins |
| Cases / battles | 8.8% | ~880 coins |
| Match betting | ~4% | ~400 coins |
So if placing 10th needs tens of thousands of coins wagered and pays a few hundred, you're likely paying more in edge than you win. The race is a bonus for people who'd play that much anyway, not a strategy.
Claim FREECASES4U on CSGOEmpire
Who actually benefits
- High-volume regulars who'd wager big amounts regardless.
- Match bettors who play lower-edge markets and rack up volume.
For everyone else, the leaderboard is fun to watch, not to chase.
Leaderboard + other rewards stack
Wagering also feeds:
- your daily case pool (25% of house edge on most games, 5% on match bets) — CSGOEmpire daily case,
- XP for bonus case keys (100 XP per coin on roulette, 88 on cases, 25–50 on match bets),
- your instant credit tier for skin deposits.
All of these return a slice of the edge. None flip it into profit.
Smart way to engage
- Check the current race and prize table.
- Ignore it unless you already play at that volume.
- Never raise stakes to "catch up" late in a race; that's classic chasing.
Starting out
Open the free case from FREECASES4U and play at your normal level. If you happen to place, great. If not, nothing lost.
Leaderboard maths: a worked example
Say a race pays 500 coins for 10th place, and 10th usually needs about 50,000 coins wagered. Here's what that volume costs on average at Empire's published edges:
| Where you wager | House edge | Average cost of 50,000 coins wagered | vs 500-coin prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roulette | 6.66% | ~3,330 coins | Lose ~2,830 on average |
| Cases / battles | 8.8% | ~4,400 coins | Lose ~3,900 on average |
| Match betting | ~4% | ~2,000 coins | Lose ~1,500 on average |
These race numbers are illustrative; real prize tables and thresholds vary. But the shape is almost always the same: the prize returns a fraction of what the volume costs. You'd also get some back through the daily case pool and XP keys, but nowhere near enough to flip it.
Leaderboard vs other Empire rewards
| Reward | Based on | Who benefits most |
|---|---|---|
| Leaderboard race | Total wagered during race (no coinflip) | Very high-volume players |
| Daily cases | 25% of house edge (5% on match bets) into a pool | Anyone who claims daily |
| XP bonus cases | XP per coin bet (roulette 100, cases 88, coinflip 10, match 25/50) | Steady players over time |
| Instant credit | Tier + 50% of daily pool | Skin depositors |
Step-by-step: checking a race before you care about it
- Open the leaderboard page.
- Note the time left and prize table.
- Look at what the lowest prize position has wagered so far.
- Compare that with what you'd normally wager in the same period.
- If it's way above your normal play, ignore the race.
Red flags you're chasing the leaderboard
- You're betting bigger than usual because a race ends soon.
- You switched from coinflip to roulette just because coinflip doesn't count.
- You're checking your rank more than your balance.
Any of those? Step back. Our responsible gambling page has tools for setting limits.
Troubleshooting leaderboard questions
| Issue | Explanation |
|---|---|
| My bets didn't move my rank | Coinflip wagers are excluded |
| Higher level player is behind me | Level doesn't matter, only wagered amount |
| Prize didn't appear | Prizes pay automatically at race end; contact support if missing |
Why coinflip is excluded
Coinflip has the lowest house edge on Empire at 0.5%. If it counted toward the leaderboard, players could rack up huge volume at almost no cost and farm prizes. Excluding it keeps races tied to games where the site earns enough edge to fund the prizes. That's also a hint about the economics: the race prizes are paid out of the edge on everyone's volume.
Who actually wins races
Mostly high-rollers and match bettors with big volume. A player wagering thousands of coins a day can place without changing habits. A casual player trying to catch them would need to multiply their usual play, which is exactly the behaviour that leads to big losses. So for most people, the right strategy is to treat the leaderboard as background noise.
A better use of your attention
If you want value from Empire's reward system without wagering more:
- Claim your daily case every day.
- Open bonus cases when your XP keys unlock them.
- Use low-edge modes if you're playing anyway.
- Keep sessions short and budgets fixed.
Quick reference
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What counts? | All bets except coinflip |
| Level matters? | No |
| Prizes paid? | Automatically at race end |
| Worth chasing? | Rarely, unless you already play big volume |
| Coin value | 1 coin ≈ $0.614 |
Step-by-step: if you do want to compete
If you already play high volume and want to give a race a go, do it with rules:
- Set a fixed total wager budget for the race period, not a rank target.
- Prefer lower-edge eligible games so the volume costs less on average.
- Track your net balance, not just your rank.
- Stop when the budget is used, even if you're one spot off a prize.
- Collect your daily case and bonus cases along the way; they're part of the return.
Leaderboard myths
- "Higher levels get boosted." No, only total wagered counts.
- "You can farm it with coinflip." Coinflip is excluded.
- "Late bets count double." Nothing in Empire's rules says so; every bet counts the same.
- "The race is free money." It's funded by the edge on players' volume.
Leaderboard and responsible play
Races are designed to keep people betting, and the countdown timer adds pressure. If you notice the timer changing how you bet, that's the moment to close the tab. Empire's account settings and our responsible gambling page list tools such as limits and breaks. A prize you'd have to chase isn't worth it.
Summary
The CSGOEmpire leaderboard ranks total wagered during a race, excludes coinflip, ignores level and pays prizes automatically. For most players the maths says enjoy it as a spectator sport and focus on daily cases and bonus cases instead.
18+ only. If you're wagering more to climb a leaderboard, that's a red flag; read our responsible gambling page.