Looking to jumpstart your career as an esports professional and make some cash along the way? If so, a recent study shows that MOBAs and shooters may be your big tickets to riches.
According to data provided by Gamdom, MOBAs like “DOTA 2,” “Arena of Valor,” and “League of Legends,” as well as shooters like “Fortnite,” “PUBG,” “Counter-Strike,” and “Rainbow Six,” paid the most money per tournament. “DOTA 2” tournament earners were far and away the most well off, with a total prize pool of over $283 million and an average of just under $4.9 million per tournament. The next-closest title was “Fortnite,” which paid out $102 million across 69 tournaments, an average of just under $1.5 million per event. You can view the full list of games and tournament payouts below:
| Rank | Game franchise | Tournaments in 500 largest prize pools | Total prize pool | Average prize pool per tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dota | 58 | $283,316,316 | $4,884,764 |
| 2 | Fortnite | 69 | $102,053,800 | $1,479,041 |
| 3 | PUBG | 43 | $88,995,330 | $2,069,659 |
| 4 | Arena of Valor | 35 | $77,625,555 | $2,217,873 |
| 5 | Counter-Strike | 68 | $62,326,952 | $916,573 |
| 6 | League of Legends | 38 | $55,648,679 | $1,464,439 |
| 7 | Call of Duty | 25 | $37,854,000 | $1,514,160 |
| 8 | Rainbow Six | 14 | $26,211,710 | $1,872,265 |
| 9 | Overwatch | 11 | $21,110,000 | $1,919,091 |
| 10 | CrossFire | 18 | $13,058,133 | $725,452 |
While many of the games on this list shouldn’t be surprising, others might. “CrossFire,” a South Korean tactical FPS game that only remains active in China, Vietnam, North America, Europe, Latin America, Brazil, and the Philippines, cracked the top 10. “Overwatch,” one of the most popular esports titles in the past decade, has seen a fall from its previous status as one of the premier esports titles, only ranking ninth. “Overwatch 2” has not been popular amongst players, which could contribute to its fall.
Interestingly, there are no sports or fighting games in the top 10, despite an increased push to provide larger prize pools for these games. However, this may be because those games feature only one person playing at a time, rather than teams of multiple players that need to be paid out.





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