The most profitable competition?

A look at esports prizes compared with film festivals and sports competitions

Arab archer soldier! This one phrase is enough to blow the mind of any PC gamer and hurl them one or two decades back, into the arena of the Crusades, that too behind the wide, large CRT monitors. Neighbours from Hell, Mortal Kombat, Counter-Strike, Warcraft and Need for Speed are all nostalgic names for video game fans. A generation whose pocket money was spent more at game-net snack counters may never even have imagined that a day would come when one could receive money in return for playing. But it did not take all that long for that far-fetched era to arrive. Now video games, under the title of esports, have become a high-income and name-making occupation. Even some colleges offer esports courses and award their students scholarships similar to other athletic scholarships.

Esports is a large global industry. Such that by 2022 its market value was estimated at 1.45 billion dollars and its audience at about 532 million people. This nascent but enormous industry has created various revenue streams for gamers, one of the most important of which is competition prizes. The striking increase in prizes has made esports a lucrative profession and attracted many fans around the world. To the point that esports competition prizes now, in terms of number, compete with traditional sporting events and film festivals.

Esports competition prizes and the ways they are funded

One of the main factors in the increase of prizes in esports disciplines is the definition of innovative budget models. The introduction of crowdfunding mechanisms by major tournaments such as The International for Dota2 began and had a large impact in changing the landscape of video game prizes. This model allows the game community and gamers, through in-app purchases of video games or fundraising campaigns, to participate directly in competition prize pools. The Dota tournament now, by awarding prizes of more than 30 million dollars, has set records that have made it one of the most profitable events in the history of esports.

The chart below shows the leading Esports or electronic sports games worldwide in 2022 based on competition prizes. The International Dota2 competition, with total prizes worth 32.85 million dollars, stands at the top of the esports festival. This figure in the previous year was about 40 million dollars. Second place, by a small margin and with a total of 32.73 million dollars, belongs to Arena of Valor.

Other most popular video games such as League of Legends and Fortnite also use similar financial models in which part of the game's in-app purchases is allocated to funding the prizes of major tournaments. This approach not only shows the sense of enthusiasm and the spirit of dedication of gamers, it creates a sense of ownership and participation among players and fans of types of electronic games.

Corporate financial support and investment is another of the main drivers of the increase in prizes of the esports association. Large companies such as Honda, Totino's and Puma, which are aware of the breadth of these games' audiences, support esports leagues. These sponsorship deals generate considerable capital for the tournaments and help organizers increase the amount of their prizes.

For esports competitions, media rights and broadcasting deals are also a notable financial stream. Since television networks and platforms such as Twitch and YouTube compete for exclusive broadcasting rights, this leads to profitable agreements for electronic competitions. In 2021, with a total of more than 400 million viewers, it had about 200 million dollars of proceeds from this route. Global access to live-streaming platforms has played an important role in expanding the audience range of these electronic sports games, a matter that creates high appeal for sports competition sponsors and advertisers.

Film festival awards

Types of film festival are held annually in various countries, and their awards differ depending on the festival and its category. This diversity of awards indicates an understanding of the multifaceted nature of filmmaking and the recognition of its various parts such as cinematography, directing, acting and other artistic components of a film that help build cinematic experiences. Even so, unlike esports competitions whose monetary prize value is dazzling and is considered an important incentive for gamers, film festival awards do not have much financial value. Many of the world's most important film festivals, such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival, do not award a cash prize to their selectees. The value of their awards is in the fame, prestige and career opportunities that they can bring for winners and even nominees.

Unlike esports competitions, film festivals emphasize the value of artistic expression and storytelling and use awards as a means of appreciating the selectees. Of course there are exceptions as well. Some film festivals, especially short film festivals or particular genres, may award cash prizes to winners in various categories. The amount of these prizes ranges from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. For example, one of the most expensive cinematic prizes, at the Diccover short film festival, is an amount of as much as 35000 million dollars.

But in these cases too the primary value of the awards is measured by the commercial success that in the long term it creates for the filmmaker, not the monetary reward itself. Filmmakers often look to international film festivals as a platform for presenting their works to a wider audience and attracting the attention of distributors, investors and other stakeholders in the film industry.

In general it can be said that although film festival awards and esports competition prizes both confer professional prestige on the selectees, they have a completely different approach from one another that is influenced by their different nature. Esports, as its name indicates, is a sport-centered model that is rooted in competitive games, and prizes in it are defined as an incentive for players. Whereas a film and cinema festival looks to the intrinsic value of art and, instead of a direct financial reward, awards prizes to honor outstanding works.

Sports competition prizes

The nature of the rewards of sporting events too was in the past similar to film festival awards. Meaning that the focus was not on the financial reward but on the cup itself. To the extent that the championship cup is still used as a synonym for sports competitions. The moment of a sports team taking the cup always recalls taking booty after victory in historical wars, and its value is in that same sense of glory, pride and epic that it confers on the players and their fans. Now too a handful of the cups themselves have material value. What is noteworthy is the cash prizes that are paid to the winning player or teams. The change in the landscape of sports competition prizes toward paying dazzling amounts has also affected the nature of sports leagues, and many professional players, like gamers, look at it through a financial lens.

 

Sports competition prizes differ depending on the discipline, the contest and its level, but among them every year large figures are seen. The Formula One race, which is an international motor-racing contest and is known as the Grand Prix, awards about 135 million dollars to the winner. This amount is the most expensive and largest sports competition prize worldwide.

The second rank of sports prizes belongs to the UEFA Champions League, which in total is 93.7 million dollars. The FIFA World Cup is also one of the most popular tournaments in the world, which has a 41 million dollar prize. The CUP LNB competition, or the American basketball premier league, with 35 million dollars, the UEFA European Championship with 34 million dollars, the Europa League with 30 million dollars, the Federal Express (FedEx) Cup with 18 million dollars, the World Series of Poker with 12.1 million dollars, the Cricket World Cup with 4 million dollars, and the Wimbledon championship with 3 million dollars are among the best and largest sports competition prizes.

Summary

In recent years, in parallel with the growth in the popularity of video games, their competition prizes have also increased strikingly. In other words it can be said that the high figures of the prizes of types of electronic games, like a magnet, have drawn many fans from around the world toward themselves. The definition of innovative budget models based on collective participation, the injection of abundant capital through corporate support, and the conclusion of large contracts with television networks and online streaming platforms are among the most important factors in the increase of esports competition prizes. In 2022 the tournament The International for Dota2, with total prizes worth 32.85 dollars, stood at the top of all esports tournaments. This amount in the previous year was about 40 million dollars. The said figure is considered a large figure and equals the prizes of major sporting events such as the UEFA European Championship, the Europa League and the American baseball premier league. It is even higher than some major events such as the FedEx Cup, the World Series of Poker, the Cricket World Cup and the Wimbledon championship. Even so, it still has a large distance from the best and largest sports competition prize. The most expensive prize of sports leagues belongs to the Formula 1 motor-racing contest with 135 million dollars. After that stands the UEFA Champions League reward with a total of 93.7 million dollars.

The festival award, however, has a great difference from traditional sports contests and Esports, which arises from their different nature. Film and cinema festival awards emphasize the intrinsic value of art and usually lack financial worth. Many of the world's most important film festivals give no cash prize to the selectees. Their value is in the fame, prestige and new positions that they create for filmmakers. Whereas the cash prize in sports and electronic games acts as a catalyst and is considered one of the main motivations for gamers.