Top 5 Video Game Tournaments for Money and Prizes

The biggest, best and up-and-coming video game tournaments for money and prizes.

Since we covered the history of video game tournaments for money and prizes, it’s clear to see how much things have progressed since the early days of gaming. The rapid growth of the eSports industry has seen tournament prize money grow and grow. We’ve had a closer look at some of the numbers, and we’ve compiled a list of the biggest and best tournaments out there.

Overwatch

Blizzard’s colourful and wacky team-based, multiplayer game Overwatch has seen a solid audience since its release in 2016, with a base of 10 million who continue to play regularly. The next season of the Overwatch League – an esports tournament with a series of live events where professional players battle it out – is set to proceed despite the pandemic. 

This year, the prize pool stands at an extraordinary $4.5m, not an insignificant step down from last year’s pool of $5.06m. It’s a running theme in eSports this year to see smaller prizes pools due to the economic downturn. Nonetheless, all teams will be returning to the league and we’re expecting to see sparks fly again this season.

Warzone

The battle royale extension to the Call of Duty series came to the community at just the right time; at the peak of a pandemic when everyone was stuck (safely, luckily) at home. Warzone dropped, saving us from the boredom of lockdown and quickly accumulating over 80 million players worldwide! 

Despite the peak in popularity, Warzone has not yet made it into the Call of Duty League – but hold onto your parachutes, because it’ll be making the drop later this year! In the meantime, Twitch joined the party (get it?), hosting its own Warzone league with a prize pool of $250,000 back in December. It’s hard to imagine that this number won’t rise in future Call of Duty video game tournaments for money.

FIFA 21

The October release of the new FIFA gets the ball rolling for fans every year. We’re 21 instalments into the series, and nobody seems to be getting tired of it just yet. With a player base of 150 million globally, FIFA somehow continues to grow and retain a consistent, loyal fanbase every season.

On that note, we hope you’re ready for the FIFA 21 World Cup later this year because the qualifiers have already kicked off. With a total prize pool of $4.5m on offer, it’s no wonder so many players are happy to grind away for days on end in a long list of different leagues, qualifiers and playoffs in the hopes of winning cash – it’s eFootball’s greatest prize, after all.

Street Fighter V 

We’ve previously delved into the history of Street Fighter and found the series was one of the pioneering adopters of eSports. They’ve been running official competitions since Street Fighter II hit the scene back in 1991. It’s not hard to see the appeal – nothing beats sweating against your most competitive mate for three rounds, right? 

Capcom are still on the horse, with Street Fighter V leading The Capcom Pro Tour which starts on the 17th of April. with thousands of players fighting it out through 32 live streamed events. Four battle-hardened finalists will then compete for the grand prize of $5,000. It may not be as lucrative as other tournaments, but Street Fighter fans don’t care!

Rocket League

Rocket League has seen a steady surge of popularity since its release, with its unique, game-changing mash-up of football and racing. Including gleaming graphics and heart-racing gameplay, it’s tailor-made for video game tournaments for money – like the Rocket League Championship Series. 

Series X is currently unfolding, with an unbelievable $4.5m on the line – one of the largest prize pools out there. We’ll be seeing the conclusion sometime in the summer, so keep your engines running – soccar is about to get serious.

Play with Stakester!

Did you know that all of the games we’ve listed are available to play on the Stakester app for money and prizes? Watching tournaments is one thing, but we believe that winning for yourself is much better. So download the app today and dominate your opponents in the arena.