The eSports market has witnessed tremendous growth over the years, both in terms of revenue and viewership. The rapid growth of the entire industry has led to a surge in the size of tournament prize pools bringing millions of dollars of profit for the most successful gamers.

According to data gathered by GoldenCasinoNews, ten largest eSports tournaments of all-time hit $176.1 million in total prize money. With $134.4 million in total prize money or 77% of that amount, The International ranked as the world’s leading eSports tournament.

Dota 2 is the Highest Paid Game Globally

First held at Gamescom in 2011 as a promotional event for Dota 2, The International turned into the annual world championship for the popular video game and eSports competition with the largest prize pools.

In 2014, the world’s best Dota 2 players competed for a total of $10.9 million in prize money, revealed EsportsEarnings data. In the next twelve months, The International prize pool jumped almost 65%, reaching $18.4 million. The increasing trend continued in the next two years, with the value of The International prize pool rising over $24.6 million in 2017.

Statistics show The International 2019 represents the largest eSports event globally. The tournament, which took place in August 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, brought more than $34.3 million in prize money.

The EsportsEarnings data also revealed that Dota 2 represents the world’s leading eSports game in terms of total prize money. With almost 1,400 tournaments so far, Valve’s multiplayer online battle arena video game brought a total of $224.8 million in prize pools.

Two Largest Fornite Tournaments Hit $30.3 Million in Prize Money

As one of the biggest games ever with more than 350 million players worldwide, Fornite also brought remarkable profit for the world’s most successful gamers. Statistics show that Fortnite World Cup Finals 2019 – Solo and Duo hit $30.3 million in total prize pools, ranking them as the sixth and seventh largest eSports events of all time.

In the last three years, since the popular game was released, 3,350 Fortnite players competed in 562 tournaments for a total of $90 million in prize money, ranking it as the third highest-paid eSports game globally.

League of Legends 2016 and 2018 World Championship conclude the list of the world’s largest eSports tournament prize pools, with $12.1 million in combined prize money. Statistics show the Riot Games megahit ranked as the fourth leading eSports game in the world, with more than $75.5 million in total prize money.