We all know that the primary goal of betting is to make money—otherwise, it wouldn’t be called betting. Knowing which games make the most money might make or break your earnings. What’s the sense of placing bets if you’re only getting a small payout?
That being stated, we’ve compiled a list of the highest-paying esports games available. These games all have a solid reputation in the video game business, attracting millions of fans and bettors over the course of the season.
Let’s look at the highest-paying esports games, lesser esports that pay well, how prize pools affect bettors and which esports events are most popular and the best to bet on. What exactly are we waiting for? Let’s get this party started!
5. Heroes of the Storm ($12,073,755.30) is the fifth most valuable game
Heroes of the Storm (or HOTS) is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) that has gameplay similar to League of Legends and Defense of the Ancients (or DOTA). Because Heroes of the Storm is a Blizzard game, it already has a fan base.
Heroes of the Storm, on the other hand, arrived much later than DOTA and League of Legends, which were already established names in the MOBA genre. Having said that, most people did not expect the game to acquire the degree of popularity that DOTA and LoL had.
Due to the game’s pre-existing audience, as well as references to other games such as Overwatch and StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm took off quickly, edging out other lesser MOBAs such as Vainglory and Smite.
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What sets them apart is the monetary reward and the frequency of tournaments they host during the season. In all, Heroes of the Storm hosts the second-most esports contests among Blizzard Entertainment’s esports-worthy titles.
They’ve had dozens of tournaments that reward up to $100,000 in cash prizes, as well as hundreds of tournaments that award at least $10,000 to competitors in their seasonal events.
4. StarCraft II ($26,177,843.77) – The fourth most valuable game
StarCraft II is one of the games that popularized esports and helped it become a big deal in places like Korea and China. It dominated the Korean scene and turned ordinary video gamers into superstars owing to their skill in the game.
Despite a decline in popularity in following years, StarCraft II has now reclaimed a position as a leading esport. It doesn’t feature a million-dollar tournament like Heroes of the Storm or League of Legends, but it has thousands of tournaments to choose from.
Small community tournaments to large-scale mass media events that are carried live on stations and networks are all part of the tournaments.
3. League of Legends ($49,991,253.79) – The third most valuable game
League of Legends is currently one of the most popular esports in the industry. The game’s variety in playstyle and appeal to many various locations has resulted in a fan base numbering in the hundreds of millions.
League of Legends has featured tournaments with a several million dollars in prize money, with recurring events throughout the season that aren’t hesitant to pay at least $100,000 to the participants.
This esport is one of the largest on the market, having joined with NBA teams and even reaching mainstream media at times. During their World Championships, they have hundreds of thousands of viewers, and when the seasonal tournaments begin, League of Legends bettors can win enormous sums of money.
The 2016 World Championship awarded a total of $5,070,000 to all competitors, with South Korea Telecom, the tournament winners, receiving $2,028,000 of that prize pool due to their first-place performance.
2. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ($51,483,280.35) – The second most valuable game
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, named “eSports Game of the Year” at the 2016 eSports Industry Awards, is a game that millions of people have heard of, even if they don’t watch esports. CS:GO (short for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) has become an esports icon in the same way that League of Legends has.
CS:GO, a game centered on counter-terrorists versus terrorists, is popular all over the world, although Europeans dominate the game. Korea has League of Legends, America has Call of Duty II, but Europe has CS:GO.
For years, they’ve dominated the scene, bringing back numerous prizes and a sizable sum of prize money. The competitors received $1,500,000 during the 2017 World Electronics Sports Games.
The tournament’s victors, Fnatic, took home $800,000 of the prize pool, with the remainder allocated based on ranking. EnVy Us also won $800,000 from the $1,500,000 prize pool at the 2016 WESG (World Electronics Sports Games).
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While CS:GO does not have as large a prize pool as League of Legends for its main competitions, it still takes in a huge amount of money due to the sheer number of tournaments available.
They offer many dozen $100,000+ tournaments, as well as other well-paying local tournaments. It’s a game in which the Europeans and Americans, rather than the Koreans or the Chinese, dominate. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a game that has become an icon for first-person shooters, and it has spawned a slew of successful players.
1. Defense of the Ancients 2 ($137,330,185.86) – The most valuable E-sports game
Defense of the Ancients is by far the most lucrative game in the esports market in terms of prize money. This is the game that has made many of its players millionaires, making it one of the most successful esports of all time. Defense of the Ancients has without a doubt, the best tournaments with the largest prize pools.
DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) shares numerous features with League of Legends. They’re both MOBA-based games, and before League of Legends, DOTA was the game that everyone was watching.
Defense of the Ancients is still a key contender in the esports industry today. Despite facing stiff competition from LoL (League of Legends), CS:GO, and Overwatch, DOTA 2’s prize fund remains unrivaled.
It comes as no surprise to longtime DOTA fans that the prize pool is in the tens of millions of dollars. The teams received a total of $24,687,919 during the International 2017. Team Liquid won $10,862,683, with second and third place receiving $3,950,067 and $2,592,231 respectively.
The overall prize pool for the International 2016 was $20,770,640, with Wings Gaming taking home $9,139,002.
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Having said that, Defense of the Ancients is one of the games that pays out the most money to its competitors. This is made possible by the revenue generated by the game, sponsors, and crowd-funding.
As a result, around fifty DOTA 2 competitive players have become millionaires. This alone demonstrates how much money DOTA 2 has the potential to make you in the long run. This is why Defense of the Ancients 2 is one of our top picks for esports betting.
