7 Unusual Sports You Can Watch in 2025

Watch unusual sports in 2025 including sepak takraw, chessboxing, and drone racing, now featured on streaming services and betting apps worldwide.

Not every sport filling streaming schedules and betting apps in 2025 looks familiar. Alongside football, basketball, and boxing, there’s a growing roster of competitions that would have once seemed too niche—or too odd—for prime coverage.

Some even show up on sportsbook platforms with loyal betting communities behind them. Operators are adding niche sports to their lineups as streaming and online wagering merge.

Markets like eFootball and table tennis, which once lived in the background, now have a consistent presence. Simulated sports, virtual races, and real-time gaming tournaments are also gaining ground with bettors who want speed, stats, and round-the-clock options. These platforms are adapting fast, especially in regions where digital access outpaces traditional coverage (source: https://esportsinsider.com/my/gambling/sports-betting-malaysia).

Sepak Takraw: Volleyball Meets Kung Fu

Played across Southeast Asia for decades, sepak takraw continues to surprise new viewers. It looks like volleyball until someone backflips and spikes the ball over the net using nothing but their heel.

Each team gets three touches to return the ball, just like in traditional volleyball—but hands are off-limits. Players rely on feet, heads, and chest control. The result is a blur of kicks, blocks, and acrobatics that almost feel choreographed.

Thai, Malaysian, and Philippine regional tournaments are streamed live, with highlight clips gaining millions of views on social media.

Chessboxing: Brain, Brawn, Repeat

This sport doesn’t choose between physical endurance and mental sharpness—it demands both. In a standard match, players alternate between rounds of speed chess and boxing. Victory comes by knockout, checkmate, or opponent disqualification. And yes, both sides of the game matter equally.

The pacing is bizarre by design. One moment, someone is dodging punches. The next, they’re trying to hold their composure in a six-minute blitz chess round while still sweating from a jab exchange. The mental whiplash is part of the appeal.

Events are now held globally, with a strong following across Europe, India, and parts of the U.S.

Quidditch (aka Quadball): Fantasy to Full-contact

Once just a nod to Harry Potter fandom, Quidditch—or quadball, as it’s now known in many leagues—is now a legit contact sport with rules, referees, and global tournaments.

Players run with broomsticks between their legs, but the action isn’t a joke. It's a full-on field sport blending elements of rugby, handball, and dodgeball. Teams score by getting a volleyball through raised hoops, while “beaters” try to disrupt play using dodgeballs.

The snitch? That’s a human athlete in yellow who enters late in the game and can’t be tackled, only wrestled for the tennis ball hanging from their waistband. Strange? Definitely. But weirdly gripping to watch.

Slap Fighting: One-hit Drama

Two competitors. One table. No defense. Just alternating open-handed slaps until one gives up, gets disqualified, or hits the floor.

Slap fighting has exploded online thanks to short match formats and meme-worthy slow-mo replays. While controversial for obvious reasons, the sport now has weight classes, time limits, and improved safety standards in some regions.

Tournaments have drawn major sponsorships and streaming deals. In 2025, it’s not unusual to see slap fight highlights go viral—or surface in unexpected corners of sports betting apps.

Drone Racing: Speed in Three Dimensions

Traditional racing has lanes. Drone racing has tunnels, hoops, and sharp, gravity-defying curves. Pilots wear VR-like goggles and guide their drones through neon-lit obstacle courses at breakneck speeds. The viewer sees everything from the drone’s POV—part sport, part simulation, part roller coaster.

Championship events play out in warehouses, stadiums, or outdoor arenas with custom-designed tracks. The reflexes and control involved place drone pilots closer to elite gamers than traditional athletes, but the competition is serious.

This is also one of the most tech-forward sports showing up on virtual betting platforms thanks to measurable metrics, clear outcomes, and short-format races.

Toe Wrestling: Yes, It’s Exactly What It Sounds Like

Invented in a pub in Derbyshire, England, toe wrestling is competitive foot grappling. Two players lock toes and try to force each other's foot to the side of a small arena. Matches are short, weirdly intense, and often played barefoot by rule.

The sport has its own world championship and official governing body. It might not be on major betting platforms anytime soon, but it continues to get local press, live streams, and the kind of loyal fanbase that thrives on inside jokes and tradition.

Kabaddi: Tag with A Warrior Twist

Kabaddi is hard to describe—part tag, part wrestling, part breath-holding contest. Two teams face off on a small court, sending a single “raider” across the line to tag as many defenders as possible before racing back to safety. The catch? The raider must chant “kabaddi” non-stop while holding their breath.

Popular across India, Pakistan, and Iran, the sport has expanded through international leagues with structured tournaments and club-level teams. Its combination of strategy, stamina, and brute strength makes it one of the most compelling contact sports that still flies under the radar in many parts of the world.