What Esport Has The Biggest Prize Money?

If you’re a fan of competitive gaming, you’re probably wondering which esport has the biggest prize money. Here’s a look at the top five games with the largest prize pools.

Dota 2

Dota 2 is a five-player online battle arena video game and the largest prize money of any esport has been awarded at The International, an annual Dota 2 tournament. Based on prize money alone, Dota 2 is the most lucrative esport.

The International

The International is an annual Dota 2 esports tournament hosted by Valve Corporation, the game’s developer. The first tournament took place in Cologne, Germany in August 2011 and was funded directly by Valve, with the company covering all expenses for the teams.

Since its inception, The International has been one of the most anticipated yearly events in esports. It is considered to be the most prestigious and important tournament in all of Dota 2. The main event of The International features a group stage followed by a double-elimination playoff bracket.

The prize pool for The International 2019 was $34.3 million, which made it the largest prize pool for any single esports event at the time. As of 2020, it is still the largest prize pool for an esports event.

The Frankfurt Major

The Frankfurt Major is a professional Dota 2 eSports tournament that was held in Frankfurt, Germany on November 16th to 21st, 2015. The tournament features sixteen of the best Dota 2 teams from around the world in a double-elimination bracket, with a prize pool of $3,000,000.

The Frankfurt Major was the first Major tournament of the 2015-2016 season of competitive Dota 2 and was hosted by ESL. It is also notable for being the first Valve-sponsored Dota 2 Major. The main event took place at the Commerzbank-Arena, which has a capacity of over 10,000 people.

The tournament was won by American team Evil Geniuses, who beating Filipino team Mineski 3-1 in the grand finals. This was Evil Geniuses’ first Major tournament win and Mineski’s first top-three finish at a Valve-sponsored event.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, there are many tournaments with massive prize pools. The game has had a competitive scene for many years and continues to grow. The game is also easy to watch and understand, making it perfect for spectators. This makes it one of the most popular esports.

ESL One Cologne

ESL One Cologne is an annual Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) esports tournament organized by ESL. It is considered to be part of the Cologne region’s large gaming event gamescom. It has been held every year since 2014, originally as a Major Championship under the auspices of Valve, the game’s developer. In 2019, ESL announced that it had acquired a CS:GO Major Championship license from Valve, making Cologne the first of five events in 2019 to be officially recognized as a Major.

The tournament features two stages; a group stage and a playoff stage. The group stage uses a format whereby two groups of four teams play each other in best-of-ones (with overtime rules in place should the game end in a tie) and the top two teams from each group advance to the playoffs. The playoffs use a single elimination bracket format, with best-of-threes played until the Grand Final, which is contested as a best-of-five.

Since its inception, ESL One Cologne has featured some of the biggest prize pools in CS:GO history. In 2018, it boasted a prize pool of $1 million (USD), making it the most valuable CS:GO Major ever at that time. This was eclipsed by Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2019, which featured a prize pool of $1.5 million (USD). However, with Cologne 2020 being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will once again become the most valuable CS:GO Major ever with its current prize pool of $2 million (USD).

MLG Columbus

The 2016 Major Championship – also referred to as “MLG Columbus” – was a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship that took place in Columbus, Ohio from March 29 to April 3, 2016. The tournament featured a $1,000,000 USD prize pool, the largest in Counter-Strike history at the time. It was won by Luminosity Gaming, who defeated Natus Vincere in the final.

The tournament was organized by Major League Gaming and sponsored by Valve Corporation.

League of Legends

The largest prize pool in League of Legends history wasThe International 2017, which had a prize pool of over $24 million. The largest prize pool for a single tournament was $6.45 million, which was split between the first and second place teams at The International 2016.

The World Championship

The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games and is the culmination of each season. Teams compete for the champion title, the 70-pound (32-kilogram) Summoner’s Cup, and a US$1 million championship prize.

The Mid-Season Invitational

The Mid-Season Invitational is an annual League of Legends tournament held around the world. It is the second biggest League of Legends tournament in terms of prize money, behind only the World Championship. The tournament is hosted by developer Riot Games and features the best teams from around the world.

Heroes of the Storm

The Heroes of the Storm Global Championship (HGC) is the premier professional Heroes of the Storm league in the world, featuring the best HotS teams from across Europe, the Americas, China, and Korea. The HGC was created in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, the developer of Heroes of the Storm.

The World Championship

The World Championship is the annual professional Heroes of the Storm world championship hosted by Blizzard Entertainment. The first ever world championship was held at BlizzCon 2014, and has taken place at BlizzCon every year since. The purse for the 2018 World Championship was $1 million.

StarCraft II

StarCraft II is a real-time strategy game that was developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released in 2010 and is still played by millions of people all over the world. The game has had a huge esports scene since its release, with tournaments being held all over the world. The game has a huge following in South Korea, and the majority of the world’s best players are from there.

The World Championship Series

The World Championship Series (WCS) is a yearly event hosted by Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind the massively popular StarCraft video game franchise. The WCS Circuit is a series of tournaments that culminates in a year-end championship, with players from all over the world vying for their share of the $1 million prize pool.

The WCS was introduced in 2012 as a replacement for the previous tournament system used in StarCraft II. The new system was designed to be more accessible to players and spectators alike, with a focus on regional rivalries and storylines.

Blizzard has stated that their goal for the WCS is to create “international recognition for [the] top StarCraft II players”, and to “solidify [the] position of StarCraft II as one of [the] premier competitive games in the world”.

The first ever WCS championship was won by South Korean player Mun “MMA” Seong-won, who took home $250,000 of the $1 million prize pool.