Top 5 Esports Games Hit Over $500 Million in Total Prize Money

Recent years have witnessed tremendous growth in the global esports industry, both in terms of revenue and viewership. In 2019, some of the famous esports tournaments reached record highs, bringing huge profits for the most successful gamers in the world.

According to data gathered by GoldenCasinoNews.com, the top five esports games reached $504.2 million in total prize money so far. The multiplayer online battle arena game Dota 2 accounted for nearly half of that amount.

Dota 2 is the Highest-Paid Esports Game in the World

The statistics show Dota 2 reached $221.6 million in overall prize money from 1307 tournaments so far. The International 2019, which took place in Shanghai in August 2019, ranked as the highest-paid eSports tournament in the world, with a total prize pool worth $34.33 million. In 2019 only, nearly 1300 players competed in Dota 2 tournaments. With $6.8 million in total prize money, Danish gamer Johan “N0tail” Sundstein ranked as the most successful Dota 2 player in the world.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ranked as the second highest-paid esports game. A tactical first-person shooter game developed by Valve Corporation and Hidden Path Entertainment reached $92.3 million in overall prize money, or 2.5 times less compared to Dota 2. Over the last nine years, more than 12,600 players competed in 4,782 CS:GO tournaments. Danish gamer Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth ranked as the most successful among them with $1.7 million worth prize money so far.

Fortnite Overall Prize Pools Jumped Over $84 Million

The statistics show Fortnite is the third highest-paid esports game globally, with $84.4 million in prize money so far. The popular online video game developed by Epic Games also ranked as the most profitable esports game in 2019, ending the year with $64.4 million worth prize pools.

Nearly 2.300 Fortnite players took part in 350 tournaments last year. With more than $3 million prize money in 2019, US gamer Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf ranked as the most successful Fortnite player in the world.

League of Legends took the fourth place on the list with $73.4 million in total prizes. Over the last nine years, an action real-time strategy game developed and published by Riot Games gathered more than 6,800 players in 2405 tournaments. LoL 2018 World Championship had the largest prize pool among them, bringing $6.4 million worth prizes for the most successful players.

StarCraft II ranked as the fifth highest-paid esports game in the world. The statistics show military science fiction real-time strategy game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment hit more than $32.3 million in prize money so far.