DUBAI: eSports have become big business over the past 5 years.
From early beginnings in arcade-based competitions, through 1990s LAN parties and online gaming, the number of tournaments held each year has rocketed — as has the prize money.
Professional esports are generally held to have started when broadband internet came to South Korea in 1997.
Esportsearnings, com has been tracking the details of tournaments since 1998, when it records 7 tournaments, with 28 players competing for $110,900 (407,335) in prize money. All of those players were American or Canadian.
By 2005, there were 252 tournaments catering to 978 players with $3.78 million in prize money; four of the top 10 players were South Korean, with others coming from the US, Germany, Sweden, France and Italy. Total prize money by 2009 dipped to $3.58 million, but the number of tournaments reached 423 events with 1,609 players.
By 2014, the latest full year of statistics, there were 2,537 tournaments with 6,989 players chasing $36.4 million in prize money. Nine of the top 10 players were Chinese, with the other coming from Singapore.
Defence of the Ancients 2 (DOTA2) is the top-earning game in 2015, with prize money totalling $16.6 million so far this year. League of Legends ($8 million), StarCraft II ($3.4 million), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ($1.9 million) and Call of Duty: Ghosts ($1.5 million) round out the five top-earners.
