With lots of rises and drops, many games had big changes from the previous year – here we compare the biggest esports prize pools of 2022.
Let’s take a look at the games with the biggest prize pools in 2022, and see how that compares to the previous year.
Dota2
Unsurprisingly, it is Dota2 which had the largest prize pool in 2022 totalling $32.5m. But this is down $16m from 2021, and the reason for this is quite simple, the prize pool is crowdsourced from the community via a Battle Pass, with 25% of sales going towards the pot. And with a drop in sales for a variety of reasons has reflected in an overall lower prize pot.
PUBG Mobile
With the increasing demand for mobile esports, this is now being reflected in ever-increasing prize pools. PUBG Mobile boasted a prize pool of $24.6m in the year 2022, which is up $1.5m from 2021.
Arena of Valor
Another mobile game here taking the number 3 spot, the popular MOBA title saw a prize pool of $18.7m in the year 2022, which was up $4.7m from 2021.
PUBG Battlegrounds
The PC version of PUBG takes the number 4 spot, and this is a big sign of just how committed the developers are to the esports side of the game, in 2022 PUGB Battlegrounds had a total prize pool of $16.4m, which was up $2.5m from 2021. This a sign that this esport is here to stay and see continued growth going into 2023.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS:GO has been a veteran of the esports scene for many years now and has rarely dwindled in popularity, and this is still reflected in high prize pools, for 2022 the total prize pool for CS:GO was $15.3m, which is down $2.4m from 2022. This downward trend is most likely due to there being fewer tournaments in 2022 than in previous years.
Fortnite
A game which has always had immense popularity amongst the casual crowd, Fortnite is now however really starting to make a statement in the esports scene. With a prize pool of $12.6m in 2022 which was up by $6.4m from 2021, Fortnite is definitely going nowhere and will always be a popular title amongst the younger audience, which helps fuel the esports scene.
Rocket League
Similar to Fortnite, the developers of Rocket League have really made a statement of intent in boosting up the esports side of the game and is perhaps one of the best esports a new brand could enter, in 2022 the game had a prize pool of $8.7m, which is up by $4.1m from 2021.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
If you are new to esports, this might not be a game you are familiar with. However, this FPS title has been a mainstay for many years now and is a popular esport, in 2022 the game had a prize pool of $8.5m, which is up $300k from 2021.
League of Legends
Now you have probably been waiting for this one, and are wondering why it is so low. Simply put, Riot, who develop League, keeps the prize pool low on purpose, mainly because the teams who compete in their tournaments have regular income and revenue-sharing deals, and the players involved receive a good salary in return. As for the actual prize pool, League had a total pool of $7.8m in 2022, which is down $500k in 2021.
Valorant
Being another Riot game it follows the same structure as League of Legends, in prize money terms, in 2022 Valorant had a pool totalling $7.2m, which is down $200k from 2021. Valorant is also very new in esports terms, so the fact the game is in these upper brackets of stats is very impressive.
Biggest esports prize pools of 2022
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