• As the new year brings more esports tournaments, new research has revealed the highest-paying tournaments of all time based on data compiled since 2010
• Dota 2 turns out to be the highest-paying game, with a total of 59 tournaments totaling over 270 million dollars in winnings – 65% more than the next highest game’s tournaments
• Following them, Fortnite and PUBG Battlegrounds also come out top in second and third place, respectively

A new study has revealed the highest-paying esports games, revealing Dota 2 to have the best paying tournaments.

The study, conducted by CSGO gambling site CSGOLuck, looked at data from the top 500 individual esports tournaments with the largest prize pools of all time. The data was then categorized into total winnings by game, across all combined tournaments in the list, and the average amount of potential winnings was calculated by dividing the figure by the number of tournaments.

Claiming the top spot, Dota 2 was crowned champion of the tournaments, with an overall prize pool of around $273,424,334. The game has seen 59 events, with over 3,790 players taking part. On average, tournaments for the game dish out around $4,634,310, making it the highest-paying esports tournament in the world. Furthermore, it is one of the most played games globally, with around 435,000 monthly players as of December 2023.

Taking second place is Fortnite, with $95,364,800 in winnings. The game, which was only released in 2017, has seen 63 tournaments dedicated to the sport and has been played by over 6,800 gamers in the events. On average, winners of Fortnite’s tournaments can expect to see around $1,513,726 on offer – whilst still a hefty amount, this is over 65% less than Dota 2’s average.

With an average of $2,033,634 winnings across its 40 tournaments, PUBG Battlegrounds takes the third spot. The game’s total prize pool comes out at $81,345,392, making it the third highest-paying set of tournaments ever.

Arena of Valor takes fourth spot, with $71,999,058 handed out to gamers across its events. On average, teams can expect $2,249,970 available as the top prizes.

Following them, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive had a total of $60,771,952 in winnings across its 70 tournaments. The game has the highest total number of tournaments compared to any other game, with the average prize totaling $868,170 for top teams.

One of the most iconic games of the last decade, League of Legends, takes the next spot, ranking sixth. The game, which has over 140 million monthly players according to the latest statistics, has winnings of around $1,525,444 on average and a total prize pool of $53,390,571 making it the fifth best paying game for tournaments.

Another long-standing game in the world of esports, Call of Duty has given away over $39,954,000 to top teams across 36 different tournaments, earning it seventh place on this list. The game had a re-release of Modern Warfare III last year and found itself as the second-best selling game of 2023.

Overwatch tournaments claim eighth place, with $21,360,000 having been paid out to top teams at tournaments. Since being released in 2016, the game boasts of over 20 million monthly players worldwide, meaning plenty of competition across its 13 tournaments so far.

With just 11 tournaments dedicated to the game, Rainbow Six Siege comes in at ninth highest-paying. The game’s tournaments have totaled $20,461,709 in prize pools, with an average of $1,860,155 on offer per tournament.

Lastly, CrossFire takes tenth spot with $12,337,483 handed out across 17 tournaments. The game, popular mostly with gamers in Asia, has an average of $725,734 as its prize pool.

Top ten games with the highest total prize pools, ranked:

Speaking on the popularity of esports tournaments, a spokesperson from CSGOLuck comments: “Tournaments for online gaming have surged in popularity over the last decade due to their perfect blend of strategy, skill, and entertainment.

“Esports successfully captivate a global audience with accessible online platforms and high-stakes competitions. The convergence of technology and competitive gaming has elevated players to celebrity status, drawing massive viewership for these personalities.

“With sponsors, lucrative prize pools, and mainstream recognition, esporting events have become cultural phenomena, reflecting the evolving landscape of digital gaming media and consumption this century.”

Methodology
Data was sourced from https://www.esportsearnings.com/tournaments/largest-overall-prize-pools then combined and sorted into total prize pools for each game – rather than individual games, the study combined all versions of one game in the results (e.g., all Call of Duty games are categorized under one prize pool amount). The average was then calculated by dividing the total prize pool by number of tournaments.

Information about average monthly players was drawn from https://steamcharts.com/app/570