What are the biggest esports tournaments in the World?

There are a lot of esports games in the market, some old and some new, however, not everyone is equally popular among gamers. Despite having some decent prize pools, a few games remain across niche audiences while others are beloved by many are alike.

The popularity of an esports game also directly affects the number of fans and esports tournaments related to the game each year, some of the biggest events bring in millions in viewership and prize pool.

Here are some of the biggest esports tournaments in the world

6. M World Championship (MLBB)

The rise in popularity of MOBA games has also caught on to the mobile gaming scene and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has emerged as one of the most popular MOBA titles on mobile devices. The popularity of the game brought on the M World Championship, the official event for MLBB by Moonton.

Since the first World Championship, the number of fans and the tournament reward has gone up each year, with the event now being one of the most popular esports games in the world. The M5 World Championship taking place in 2023 saw over 5 million in viewership.

5. Fortnite Champion Series

The opening years for Fortnite were some of its most successful years in terms of viewership. While not as robust as its glory days, the game still brings in a sizable amount of viewership each year. As for the prize pool, the game features some of the biggest events each year with multi-million dollar events.

The Fortnite Champion Series or FNCS is one of the biggest events currently held each year and while there are other tournaments with large prize pools, the FNCS clocks in the majority of viewers. As of 2024, the FNCS regional events are underway and have already distributed over $3 million in prize money.

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4. Valorant Champions

Valorant might be new to the party but has climbed up the popularity ladder with millions of fans tuning in for the events, which also features millions in the prize pool. What’s most interesting is that a majority of the events are organized by Riot Games themselves and not by any third party like in other games.

The game features multiple regional, Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), ultimately leading to the main event for the year Valorant Champions. 2024 already saw the highest viewership for the game at VCT Madrid, featuring over 1.6 million viewers.

3. Counter-Strike Majors

Despite all the controversy regarding the cheats plaguing the game, Counter-Strike remains one of the most popular esports titles featuring multiple high-stakes tournaments. As for the tournaments, each major usually has the same hype among all players and features a similar prize pool going over $1 million.

Some of the most popular events include Blast, PGL and IEM Majors which boasts a large number of audience and the prize pool. A few of the non-major events are also quite popular and are celebrated on the same scale as a Major.

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2. The International

Dota 2 is famous for hosting esports events featuring the biggest prize pools in the history of video games, especially during The International. The game has distributed over $300 million in the prize pool since its inception. The biggest event for The International was back in 2021 featuring a prize pool of over $40 million.

While the amount has gone down since 2021, it remains much larger than any other esports tournament, reaching over $15 million each year. As for viewership, the number also crosses one million each year. As of 2024, the highest viewership has crossed 400k at PGL Wallachia Season 1.

1. League of Legends World Championship

Currently considered one of the most popular esports events, the League of Legends World Championship or Worlds last year made the record for highest viewership reaching over 6.4 million viewers, breaking the record set by Garena Free Fire for 5.4 million.

Similar to Valorant, the majority of the events are organized by Riot Games as it is their IP and the company does not cheap out on the prize pool either. Combined, the game features over $8 million in prize pool each year.

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