Over the last twenty years, esports players have been excited about the payouts that are even enough for their retirement. These esports prize pools are also one of the reasons why players participate in these games. Other reasons are worldwide fame and popularity and the proud feeling of winning the championship.
Although at first, the prizes are not so definite but spontaneous. Just like the first esports prize was a red Ferrari of Quake developer John Carmack won by Dennis in 1997. In 2006, John won a Rolex from the WSVG Quake 4 Championship.
These prizes were certainly appreciated in their time, but now the scene has changed very much. Now, esports prize pools are so large that after a match, players can take a break or even retire. On today’s date, the major source of the esports prize pool is crowdfunding.
The International $10 – 40 Million: Best Esports Prize Pools
The most incredible esports prize pool was in Valve’s annual world championship in Dota 2. It broke the records for esports prize awards for being its first of a kind after 10 years.
It offered a total of $1.6 million in 2011 and 2012; the scenario changed in 2013. This year, the event is able to gather funds through crowdfunding in esports history. In the year 2021, Team Spirit achieved a mammoth $40 million in prize money.
The 2019 Fortnite World Cup Finals – $30.4 Million
The second place holder esports prize pools is when Epic’s first Fortnite World Cup Finals was organized. It is featured as one of the biggest prize pools in esports history.
In the inaugural tournament, there were two main events. At the finals, Kyle Giersdorf achieved $3 million in the solo finals. And David W and Emil Bergquist shared $3 million as the duo.
Riyadh Masters 2023 – $15 Million
Riyadh Masters was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the year 2023 and saw some spectacular performances for esports prize pools. The champion team of the year 2012, Team Spirit won the 2023 battle and bagged the esports prize pool.
They defeated Team Liquid in the finals by 3-1 and in the one–sided series won swiftly. This series was fun to watch and gave me moments to remember.
The 2021 Honor of Kings World Champion Cup – $7.7 Million
This esports prize pools of 2021 Honor of Kings was amazingly superb and left players with ample amounts of money. The championship was hosted in Beijing and 12 of the best Honor of Kings teams battled for the prize pool.
The championship was for Chinese people and every player was Chinese. They all fought really hard and made the matches worthwhile.