Top 10 Biggest CS:GO Tournament Prize Pools
By Roger on Aug 21st, 2024, 10:39
While prize money is a nice bonus in CS:GO tournaments, it's not the primary income for players. Instead, this comes from sponsors, brand deals, and other sales.
Despite this, CS:GO tournaments have had eye-watering money at stake, with winners taking huge wallets home. Whilst these amounts don't compare to "The International", they're still incredible!
In first place with the biggest ever CS:GO tournament prize pool is the PGL Major Stockholm 2021! This tournament was a big deal as it marked the return of Major CS:GO tournaments post-COVID.
Valve also doubled the prize pool to a scorching $2 million as the primary sponsor for the year. Natus Vincere, aka Na'Vi, managed a clean sweep of the event. They didn't just win; they crushed it by taking first place without losing a single map! Talk about stamping your legacy on the sport!
Let's return to China with the WESG tournaments from 2016 and 2017. The tournaments were super ambitious, with organizers focusing on bringing national team competitions back from the dead.
They mustered the most giant prize pool then: a staggering $1.5 million to lure top talent. In 2016 and 2017, Team EnVyUs and Fnatic became Champions, respectively, with a whopping $800,000 prize purse.
While the event had big ambitions, WESG didn't turn out to be the tier-1 event the organization planned, but it made waves in the CS:GO and Chinese gaming communities.
The ELEAGUE, organized by Turner Sports and WME|IMG, had a prize pool of over $1.4 million. Virtus Pro finished on top in the overall standings of the season.
Season 2 saw the prize purse trimmed to $1.1 million, but fan expectations were through the roof as OpTic Gaming took the season. ELEAGUE's uniqueness and high production value made the event series special to the world of esports gaming competition.
XBLAST.TV Major in Paris and IEM in Rio provided plenty of thrills for esports fans, with the prize pool shooting up to $1.25 million. Outsiders stole the crown in Rio, while Team Vitality won the champions' title in Paris. The extra quarter-million in prize money spikes an insane competition where teams were falling over themselves to make an impact on an international stage.
Whilst not an event of the past, the Thunderpick World Championship 2024 looks like another blast. Taking place between April and October 2024, some of the world's best CS:GO teams will be battling it out for $1,000,000 in prize money. Last year, teams like FaZe Clan, Virtus Pro, and Cloud9 performed brilliantly and hope to play again.
Back to Atlanta for the ELEAGUE CS:GO 2017. The total prize pool for the Premier was a million dollars, distributed among sixteen teams. The winners were FaZe Clan, receiving a whopping $500,000. In second place was Astralis, with $150,000, and, unsurprisingly, Cloud9, with $70,000. The spectacle showcased high-tier gameplay and player readiness to embrace rivalry.
Staying in Atlanta, the ELEAGUE CS Premier 2018 saw Astralis take the top prize of $500,000. The other top three were Team Liquid and Mousesports, respectively, awarded $200,000 and $80,000. This tournament was an Astralis masterclass in their game against the closest rival, Team Liquid, in the CS scene, and it had fans at the edge of their seats.
The Intel Grand Slam is a big deal in the esports CS:GO world. It isn't some tiny event; it's a chained tournament where teams must win four of ten premier tournaments to pocket a $1 million prize. Astralis, Team Liquid, Natus Vincere, and FaZe Clan have managed to do this, proving overall excellence in their skillset through an extended period. Every event counts in the race for the title in the fifth Grand Slam!
The ELEAGUE Major 2017, held in Atlanta, featured a $1 million prize pool. Astralis clinched the title and half of the prize money, continuing their impressive run in the CS world. Virtus Pro finished second, earning $150,000, while Fnatic and SK Gaming each took $70,000 for their third and fourth-place finishes, respectively.
The next breakthrough event in the million-dollar price-pool area was ESL One Cologne 2016. SK Gaming took the champion's title this time, while Team Liquid and Fnatic joined them on the podium. It was a spectacular challenge, with some of the greatest teams in the world coming through to fight for supremacy.
From historic games to upcoming matches, Counter-Strike is always buzzing with excitement and money. Which tournament are you most excited about? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and stay tuned for more CS:GO content.
