Dota 2 Esports: The Top Money-Making Tournament

Are they going to be the esports icon? Well, Valve’s Dota 2 is on their fourth consecutive appearance as top moneymaker for esports. But how does Dota 2 become the highest-paying esports game for 2024? So, let’s take a dive into their amazing competitive season this year. 

Record-Breaking Prize Pool Despite Decline

Over the 6,300 tournaments that were tracked by Esports Charts, Dota 2 managed to keep their spot safe. When you’re thinking that things might not be going well for them, Valve is proving otherwise. This year, 2024, the overall prize pool in Dota 2 tournaments exceeds $22 million. 

Taking a look back, DOTA 2 major events actually reduced their prizes, including the Riyadh Masters and The International (TI). It was recorded as a 28% decrease from their total prize pool during the 2023 season. But still, they managed to keep their record at first with the TI 2024. Dota 2 TI 2024 is the only tournament that distributed $1,249,445 to their champion, Team Liquid. 

So, this alone puts them on top of the other esports league that is currently dominating the scene. 

Dota 2’s Historical Dominance in Esports Prize Money

But all of these weren’t a new achievement for Valve’s Dota 2. This is actually their fourth year of placing first as the highest paying esports games. For the entire eight years, Dota 2 had distributed more than $330 million prize money to teams in the league. 

This helps them remain relevant despite new esports titles rising to fame in the gaming community. Also, this generosity put distance between them and their competitor, which is Counter Strike. During the same period, Counter Strike only awarded $155 million in all of their tournaments. 

Close Competition with Counter-Strike

Now, this year 2024 has been different when compared to records in previous years. This time, it was a close race between Dota 2 and Counter Strike for the total prize pool. Yet ultimately, it is Dota 2 that remains first as the highest paying esports game in 2024. 

However, Counter Strike only missed approximately $10,000 to achieve the same feat with Dota 2 for this competitive year. It seems that they’ll be competing tougher for 2025 since Counter Strike has been showing growth. They achieved a 10.5% prize pool increase from the previous year and, alone, hosted more events. 

If all these continue, it might get difficult for Dota 2 to make their fifth top appearance next year. Particularly, they’ve been struggling to bring back their market, as seen in the decline of the prizes. It’s definitely going to be exciting competition between these two in the upcoming seasons.

The Rise of Mobile Esports Challengers

Seeing the entire ranks, mobile esports are rising as threats to these longtime running leagues. While Dota 2 and Counter Strike secured top spots, Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile took third and fourth. Many seem to notice that mobile esports gained more attention this year, even in prize pools. 

Honor of Kings, in fact, made history as the fifth game to distribute more than $20 million prize pool. So far, it was only Dota 2, Counter Strike, PUBG Mobile, and Fortnite that were able to do so. Also, this game is one of the big esports titles in China, which has a huge gaming base. So for the King Pro League KPL Seasonal Finals, they awarded over $9.6 million as prize pool. 

Conclusion 

The 2024 highest paying esports game goes to Dota 2 for the fourth time. Despite the decline from their prizes last year, their esports ecosystem was able to sustain their big prizes. But now that there are threats like Counter Strike and Honor of Kings, how will Dota 2 place next year?