Are you the best among your mates at FIFA? Do you boast the Call of Duty has the highest kill-to-death ratio? Why not convert your gaming prowess into cash, then? In recent years, esports has become increasingly popular and there are even expectations that competitive video gaming will one day become an Olympic sport.
Some of the best esports players in the world earn millions, mostly through sponsorship and advertisement, while prize money can also help. And what are the gaming world’s highest-paid esports games? What are the highest paying games for esports?
Dota 2, according to esportsearnings.com, is the highest-paid esports game to date. Since it was introduced in 2013, the action real-time strategy game has awarded $229.4m (£164.7m) out of almost 1,500 tournaments. Fortnite: Protect the future with the skins of Terminator and Sarah Connor
Counter Strike: $109.2m (£78.4m) Global Offensive sits second on the list and Fortnite’s famous mainstream video game $99.4m (£71.4m) completes the top three. Why is Dota 2 the highest-paying game for esports?
The 2019 Dota 2 World Championships had a £ 24.65m prize pool (Picture: Getty) An vast majority of the top 100 paying players come from Dota 2, which has seen the popularity of the game grow.
Due primarily to its unusual way of financing, Dota 2 has the highest prize pools of any contemporary esports. Battle Pass transactions in the game, which directly lead to major tournament prizes, account for a large portion of their prize pools. In short, Dota 2 players can buy a whole bunch of digital prizes to boost their gaming experience.
The motivation is for owners of Battle Pass to play matches, gain points and level them up, and finally unlock items and benefits. Dota 2 has a large following of fans (Picture: Suzi Pratt/FilmMagic) With its presence at one of the most widely known esports events each year at The International, the popularity of Dota 2 is also boosted.
The International 2019, which took place in Shanghai, ranked with a total prize pool worth $ 34.3 m (£ 24.7 m) as the world’s highest paying esports tournament. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament last year was canceled, but there are preparations for the 2021 event to take place in August in Stockholm, Sweden. The pool of prizes is still to be verified. On the list of the highest paying esports games, Fortnite ranks seventh.
Top 10 highest paying esports games The world’s highest-paid esports games are as follows:
- Dota 2 – $229.4m (£164.7m)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – $109.2m (£78.4m)
- Fortnite – $99.4m (£71.4m)
- League of Legends – $82m (£58.9m)
- StarCraft II – $34.4m (£24.7m)
- Overwatch – $26.8m (£19.2m)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – $25.4m (£18.2m)
- Hearthstone – $24.2m (£17.3m)
- Arena of Valor – $23.8m (£17.1m)
- Heroes of the Storm – $18.2m (£13.1m)
