Over the past decade, esports has grown from a niche to one of the world’s most lucrative forms of competitive entertainment. It is now firmly in the mainstream, attracting million of global spectators and investment from major sponsors. There’s huge money involved, with esports teams and players able to earn substantial incomes via salary, prizes, and sponsorship. We’re talking a look here at the best esports games to go pro in for 2019 and beyond, ranked by prize pools and money earning potential.
This ranking is based on a combination of factors, including lifetime prize pool totals, highest earning players, earning potential based on publisher investment and overall popularity (via twitch metrics). All data has been pulled from esportsearnings.com and Newzoo’s Twitch tracker.
12. FIFA 19
- Lifetime Prize Pool: $1,212,019.70 (19 Tournaments)
- Highest Earning Player: TekKz (Donovan Hunt) $207,000.00
When you’re planning a career in esports, you’ll likely have been attracted to the huge prize pools of massively popular tournaments like the Dota Invitational, League of Legends Championship Series, and Counter-Strike tournaments.
EA’s FIFA series, though, has much more potential than its modest prize pools and tournament numbers would suggest. You have to remember that EA is massively invested in esports, and they’re committed to hosting esports events for FIFA games probably in perpetuity.
For every new FIFA game that comes out, you’re guaranteed dozens of publisher-hosted tournaments, as well as other third-party leagues, and competitions run at large LAN evens like Dreamhack. There’s also a thriving online scene, and the prize pools are always decent, if not as spectacular as the millions and millions on offer in popular MOBA and first-person shooter games.
Not to mention, you don’t have to split your earnings with a team if you’re a FIFA pro — always something to consider.
2019 has already seen some lucrative FIFA 19 tournaments, such as the FUT Champions Cup with a prize pool of $200,000. Plenty more locked in throughout the year, including the upcoming ePremier League and eChampion’s League tournaments due to launch in 2019. Prize money hasn’t yet been confirmed for both, but we do know the latter is offering winners $100,000.
