In 2021, with the spread of the pandemic, there were mostly online tournaments. Now, with the world returning to a new normal, we are seeing the rise of LAN tournaments. Which has also caused the prize pools to grow.
In 2021, games such as Rainbow Six Siege, PUBG and PUBG Mobile managed to rise. Moreover, PUBG almost doubled its $4 million prize pool it distributed throughout 2020 in the first half of 2021. Considering that the new season of PUBG Mobile will come in the coming months, it seems that will also expand the prize pool.
On the other hand, it seems that Fortnite will be the game that gives out the most cash in 2021. Many tournaments officially organized by the Epic Games had high prize pools. Valve, once again, was stingy with its offerings. However, third parties that provide CS:GO tournaments seem to never bring this game to the bottom of the list. Frequent tournaments with incredible prize pools make CS:GO at the top of our list.
The total prize pool distributed by the esports titles in 2021 are as follows:
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: $7.98 Million
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds: $7.80 Million
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile: $5.97 Million
- Dota 2: $5.42 Million
- Rainbow Six Siege: $3.63 Million
- Arena of Valor: $3.33 Million
- Rocket League: $3.01 Million
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War: $2.78 Million
- VALORANT: $2.75 Million
I think you have the same question on your mind; “Where are the League of Legends and Overwatch?” Don’t worry, both games will make it to the top 10 by the end of the year. The two games, which allocate most of their prize pools to the big tournaments at the end of the year, usually don’t make it into the list within the first half of the year. Although, with the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard we might not see Overwatch this year in list.
Despite everything, VALORANT might also stands out in the second half of the year. As in CS:GO, tournaments created by the third parties will move the title to the top of the prize pool list. It is most likely that VALORANT will end up within the top 5 at the end of the year.
