Fortnite passes CSGO on list of total esports prize money awarded
Fortnite has overtaken Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to take the number two spot on the list of total prize money awarded by games in esports competitions.
Fortnite is already on pace to overtake Dota 2 as the top esport in terms of prize money awarded. With only 495 tournaments played thus far, Fortnite has awarded an average of $167,493 per tournament. Dota 2 averages $173,828 per tournament.
If you’ve followed esports metrics then you’ll know that some of the most cited statistics are hours watched, total views, and concurrent viewers. Often these are used as a way for someone to rate the strength or weakness of the competitive esports scene for a particular game.
Years ago, the top sport was tossed back and forth between Starcraft: Brood War and Counter-Strike.
Eventually, League of Legends burst onto the scene, followed by Dota 2 taking the overall lead in dramatic fashion thanks to The International, arguably the biggest annual tournament in esports and certainly the biggest in terms of prize pool, with 2019’s prize pool totalling over $34-million. It is the crown jewel in the Dota 2 competitive scene and largely responsible for the game’s number one ranking.
Dota 2 is still well ahead of Fortnite with more than $216 million dollars awarded over 1,245 tournaments, but Fortnite has managed to take the number two spot with just under 500 events played in a short period of time.
CS:GO held the second spot on the list for a good while and was only recently overtaken by Fortnite. Fortnite exploded onto the competitive esports scene with massive prize pools for many of their earliest competitive tournaments. They recently awarded $30 million in prize money for their Fortnite World Cup event as part of their promised $100 million given in prize money in 2019.
That event saw one player, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, take home the solo championship and a $3,000,000 first-place prize.
Fortnite has awarded $82,909,282 in prize money already. CS:GO sits just behind with $82,728,806. With Fortnite developer Epic Games pumping money into the title’s competitive scene, that gap is likely to widen in the future.
Dota 2 had held the top spot since the summer of 2014 when The International prize pool first topped $10 million. The previous year’s edition of the tournament had a prize pool of just under $3 million.
Nina Forneloza
About Nina Forneloza
Nina Forneloza is a huge fan of gaming, but her favorite genres of games above all other are gacha games, first-person shooting games, and role-playing games. When she isn’t looking for a lucky pull in the latest gacha, you’re likely to find her in a competitive Valorant lobby or playing the latest big single-player RPG. Either way, you can be assured that she’ll be into it and ready to write about the experience.
View full profile
Read Also
Counter-Strike
Team Spirit vs Team Falcons at BLAST Open Fall 2026: best predictions and picks
Owen Harsono
We’re in for a treat, as the BLAST Open Fall semi-final will feature a matchup between Team Spirit and Team Falcons, with the winner booking a spot in the grand final. It’s a battle between the world number one and number two, so this is a match you definitely don’t want to miss. Here are our BLAST Open Fall Team Spirit vs Team Falcons predictions. Tournament: BLAST Open Fall 2026 ...
Counter-Strike
Is CS2 Dying in 2026?
Owen Harsono
Counter-Strike is one of the longest-standing esports franchises, having built a loyal fanbase over the course of two decades. However, if you’ve browsed through social media platforms across the past few months, you might have seen people claiming that the game is dying or on a steady decline. Below we’ll take a look at why people are talking about this and answer the question of “is CS2 really dying?” One ...
News
The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027
Ben Boland
The 2026 Esports Nations Cup has been suspended until 2027. The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, citing ongoing regional uncertainty. The inaugural competition was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, comprising over 100 national teams and featuring 16 different games, including League of Legends. According to the Esports Foundation, this decision follows ongoing developments in the region and consultation with key stakeholders. Moving the event ...
Esports Betting
MLBB is the most-watched game from the EWC, and it’s hard to see another game beating it
Michael Hassall
The Esports World Cup 2026 has officially passed its midway point and viewership figures for the tournament have surpassed many expectations so far, as per Esports Charts. The viewership tracking site revealed new statistics for the event on Aug. 6, showcasing just how many games had set new records in viewership, including one name leading the way in views: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. MLBB leads the viewership charts with the ...
Counter-Strike
CS2 at the EWC 2026 Preview: Odds, Details, Predictions and More
Owen Harsono
Top-tier Counter-Strike action returns at the Esports World Cup, as 32 of the best teams will take the trip to Paris to compete for millions of dollars. If you’re looking to watch the event, here’s everything you need to know and which teams to keep an eye on. The Esports World Cup is one of the largest CS2 events if we’re looking at prize pools, as $2,000,000 will be distributed ...
News
Opinion: Is Esports Tracing the Same Evolutionary Path As Traditional Sports?
Cecilia Ciocchetti
What happens when an industry compresses centuries of sporting evolution into less than a decade or two? Communities become global audiences overnight, rivalries spread through social media within minutes, and tournaments turn into entertainment products faster than ever before. And so what took traditional sports centuries to build has taken esports a fraction of that. From local communities to sold out arenas, and from informal matches to Olympic-style events, the ...
Counter-Strike
BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-final predictions: who’s making it to the grand final?
Owen Harsono
The top four teams we’re seeing at the BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-finals are far from what anyone would expect before the tournament began, but here we are. We’re only three matches from crowning a winner, so let’s take a look at the best BLAST Bounty semi-final predictions for both upcoming matchups. Starting the semi-finals off is a banger of a series between FaZe Clan and Team Spirit, which is one ...
