Do esports prize pools really rival those of traditional sports tournaments?

The answer

Esports prize pools have grown to rival and sometimes exceed traditional sports. Dota 2's The International 10, held in October 2021, featured a record-breaking prize pool of $40,018,195 - funded largely through community crowdfunding via in-game purchases. For comparison, the 2021 Super Bowl awarded $5.5 million to the winning team, Wimbledon's total prize money was $49 million, and the Masters golf purse was $11.5 million. The winning team, Team Spirit, took home $18.2 million. Fortnite's 2019 World Cup awarded $30 million, with solo champion Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf, aged 16, winning $3 million. The global esports market was valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2023, with a worldwide audience exceeding 530 million viewers.