Dota 2 has distributed over $100 Million (roughly RM425 Million) in tournament winnings to a total of 1,952 players across 781 tournaments. Considering how grand of a scale Valve’s annual The International tournaments are, complete with the crowdfunding system it uses, it isn’t hard to see how Dota 2 got to where it is today.
Taking second place is Dota 2’s long-time competitor – League of Legends. Riot’s very own MOBA title has given out $41 Million (about RM174 Million) to a total of 4,739 players across 1,868 tournaments. That’s a 59% difference in terms of prize money, number of players and, tournaments compared to its biggest rival.
League of Legends is arguable the bigger and more popular game; particularly when it comes to player numbers. Even the statistics from esportsearnings.com show that LoL has managed to hold more than twice as many tournaments as Dota 2; with more than double the number of players qualifying for cash prizes.
On the other hand, Dota 2 seems to be focused on a far smaller number of events; seeing that it has the second lowest number of tournaments in the top five. In other words, it’s more profitable to be a Dota 2 pro since there are fewer tournaments to attend and the payout is bigger for each of them.
That said, LoL’s events are largely focused in Asia; where the exchange rate to the US dollar is less favourable. The size of these prize pools will naturally be smaller in this case (particularly when expressed in a foreign currency).
The disparity between the two top global esports could simply be due to geographic differences. Neither really has much of a foothold in the other’s key regions; and it looks to be more of a business decision for each of them.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive takes third place with the total prize money given recorded at $33 Million (approximately RM140 million) to 7,460 players across a total of 2,357 tournaments. In fourth place is Starcraft II that has given out $22 Million (roughly RM93 Million) to 1,657 players across 4,300 tournaments since its inception.
Lastly, the original Counter-Strike title takes fifth place by awarding over $10 Million (about RM42 million) in tournament winnings to 2,593 players across 574 tournaments. That’s pretty impressive for a game that was launched back in 2000.
Every statistical figure in this article is a rough estimate of the exact value as there are still tournaments going on. To see the entire list of the Top 100 Games Awarding Prize Money, check it out here.
[Source: Esports Earnings via Wykrhm Reddy]
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