Esports tournaments attract players and spectators from around the world and some of the biggest competitions now offer staggering prize pools. This allows the most talented players and esports teams to earn life-changing rewards for their performances in popular video games like Call of Duty, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2 and Rainbow Six Siege.
The 2026 esports competitive scene is set to break records when it comes to earnings and major events will be taking place all over the world. As a spectator, you can also bet on esports on Stake and potentially earn money yourself, especially if you take the time to study the form of the big teams before they compete.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the biggest esports tournaments in 2026 and explore the games featured and prize pools they offer, so you can understand the lay of the land for this year’s competitive gaming scene.
What Are Esports?
Esports can be defined as the competitive play of multiplayer video games in front of spectators. The audience can be in-person or online and at the elite end of the esports scene, the players are professionals who usually play as part of an established team. These teams will train extensively and compete for prize money in competitive events.
Esports organisations may focus on a single game, or they may have different teams for different video games. The esports scene is also diverse in terms of the types of games covered, with some of the most popular gaming genres including: first-person shooters, like Call of Duty, fighting games, like Street Fighter, and online battle arena games, like League of Legends. There is also a significant esports scene focused on sports games, like EA Sports FC.
Some of the biggest esports events are held in large venues, including arenas and auditoriums. They are also often broadcast across platforms like YouTube and Twitch and spectators can bet on outcomes on platforms like Stake.com.
Why Does an Esports Prize Pool Matter?
The prize pool for an esports tournament plays a crucial role, as elite esports teams have a lot of expenses to cover, including the cost of coaching, travel and game analysis. As a result, many of the best teams in the world tend to focus their efforts on the events that offer significant performance-based rewards.
Generally speaking, the higher the prize pool on offer, the more prestigious the tournament. This, in turn, usually means better teams and a higher standard of gameplay, which also leads to a better spectacle for viewers.
Larger prize pools are also helping to make esports a more viable career option for players, which can raise the standards across the board by increasing competition. Moreover, tournaments offering significant prizes enhance the credibility of the esports scene, which can help to attract more sponsorships and generate more media coverage.
Exploring the Biggest Prize Pools in Esports in 2026
The following tournaments or gaming events are expected to have the biggest prize pools in esports in 2026:
Esports World Cup 2026 – Multiple Games
The 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) is by far the biggest esports event on the 2026 calendar and is set to run from 6 July until 23 August. This year’s prize pool is expected to set a new record, with a total of $75 million up for grabs. This is an increase from the $71.5 million prize pool offered for the 2025 edition.
Held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the tournament is administrated by the Esports Foundation, with tournament supervision provided by ESL Gaming, previously known as the Electronic Sports League. The prize pool is being offered by the Esports Foundation through Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.
The Esports World Cup is a multi-event tournament, covering a total of 24 games, including:
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
- Counter-Strike 2
- Dota 2
- EA Sports FC 26
- Fortnite Reload
- League of Legends
- Overwatch 2
- PUBG: Battlegrounds
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Rocket League
- Street Fighter 6
- Tekken 8
Fortnite is making its return to the Esports World Cup as part of a three-year partnership between the Esports Foundation and Epic Games. However, notably, StarCraft II is not on the event calendar this year.
Teams competing at the Esports World Cup come from Europe, North America, South America, Asia and the Middle East. A total of $30 million from the prize pool will be allocated to the top 24 teams in the Club Championship, while $39 million will be allocated to individual events for their prize pools. Some of the remaining prize money will be awarded to individual top performers, serving as a performance bonus for the best players at the event.
Over recent years, the Esports World Cup has become firmly established as a mega-event within the esports calendar, providing extra prestige for the victors and valuable funding to some of the world’s top teams.
Six Invitational 2026 – Rainbow Six Siege
The Six Invitational is considered the pinnacle of the competitive scene for Rainbow Six Siege. This year’s event was held in Paris, France at the Adidas Arena and ran from 2 February until 15 February. The total prize pool for the tournament was $3 million, with $1 million going directly to the winning team and $450,000 being awarded to the runners up. The third and fourth placed teams, as well as the top individual players, also earned prize money.
Developer and publisher Ubisoft administrates the event directly and it is officially classed as the world championship for the 5 vs. 5 game mode and the year’s various competitive events held around the world.
A total of 20 teams compete in the event each year and this year’s tournament saw the Grand Final contested between FaZe Clan and Team Secret. Ultimately, FaZe Clan emerged victorious, taking the series 3-1. This marked a back-to-back success for the organisation, which is now the joint most successful team in Six Invitational history.
Handyy from FaZe Clan was named as the Tournament MVP, while Shaiiko from Team Falcons earned the most individual MVP awards over the course of the event. The tournament was broadcast on Twitch and YouTube.
The Six Invitational relies heavily on teamwork and tactical gameplay and the 2026 event produced some thrilling matches, much like in previous years. The $3 million prize pool has been offered by Ubisoft since 2020 and this makes the Six Invitational one of the most lucrative single-game tournaments in the annual esports calendar.
This year’s Grand Final achieved a peak of 264,383 simultaneous viewers, highlighting the level of interest in the event. Spectators were also able to place bets on match outcomes on Stake.com.
The International 2026 – Dota 2
The International is the annual world championship for Dota 2, administrated by Valve and PGL Esports. This year’s event runs from 13 August until 23 August and is being held in Shanghai, China at the Oriental Sports Center.
Prior to the emergence of the Esports World Cup, the International was often the most lucrative esports event of any given year. Its highest prize pool came in 2021, when a total of $40 million was up for grabs. However, prize pools have declined since then and last year’s event offered a total of $2.8 million.
It is not currently known how much the total prize pool will be for 2026. Valve contributes $1.6 million to the prize pool each year, meaning this serves as the lowest possible amount. However, the remainder of the prize pool is crowdfunded, using 25% of the revenue made from in-game transactions on Dota 2. Most likely, the total prize pool will end up being a similar amount to last year and somewhere between $2.5 million and $3 million.
A total of 16 teams will compete for the most prestigious prize in competitive Dota 2 play. The tournament takes place across two distinct phases: the group stage, which uses a round robin format, and the playoffs, which use a knockout format. The eventual winner of the playoffs’ Grand Final will be declared the world champions.
If you are looking to bet on the outcome, it is worth noting that the reigning champions are Team Falcons.
CS2 Majors 2026 – Counter-Strike 2
The CS2 Majors are actually two events, which are both treated as championship level tournaments for Counter-Strike 2. They are made up of the Summer Major and the Winter Major. Both events carry essentially the same level of prestige and are generally considered the pinnacle of the Counter-Strike 2 competitive esports scene.
For 2026, the summer event is the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major 2026, which runs from 2 June until 21 June. Meanwhile, the winter event is the PGL Major Singapore 2026, running from 25 November until 13 December. Both events have an individual prize pool of $1.25 million, adding up to a total of $2.5 million.
Each event sees a total of 32 teams competing for the prize money. The tournaments use a three stage league format, followed by playoffs, culminating in the Grand Final to crown the winners. An interesting component is the open qualification, allowing almost any team to qualify for the tournament through the Regional Major Rankings.
Significantly, the Singapore event marks the first time a Counter-Strike 2 Majors tournament has been held in Southeast Asia. This is a big step in the expansion of esports beyond its traditional strongholds of Europe and North America.
If you are planning to bet on the 2026 events on a platform like Stake, it is worth noting that both of the 2025 Majors were won by Team Vitality. This was the first time a team has won back-to-back CS2 Majors since 2019 and has firmly established Team Vitality as one of the greatest Counter-Strike 2 esports teams of all-time.
CDL Champs 2026 – Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
The Call of Duty League Championship, often shortened to CDL Champs, is the playoffs event that concludes the Call of Duty League season. The event is administrated by Activision and will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Ultimately, the tournament will crown the World Champions for the CoD: Black Ops 7 season.
Every year, the CDL focuses on the latest mainline Call of Duty game. This year, the season and the CDL Champs 2026 are focused on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which released in 2025. The playoffs run from 16 July to 19 July. The total prize pool for the event will be $2 million, with the winning team taking home $800,000.
The Call of Duty franchise remains one of the most prestigious and popular areas of esports and the yearly focus on a different game helps to keep the Call of Duty scene fresh, with teams having to learn new mechanics, skills and maps every year. This also explains why only one team has ever been back-to-back winners of the CDL Champs.
For this reason, studying form from previous years can be less relevant than with other games. If you are planning to bet on the CDL Champs 2026, it is worth paying close attention to the current season as a whole.
The Last Word
Esports events have now gained widespread recognition and acceptance, but 2026 is set to push this further, with a Counter-Strike 2 Major being held in Southeast Asia for the first time and with growing media coverage of the other major events. While certain tournaments may still carry higher level of prestige within their individual competitive scenes, it is clear that the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia will offer the largest prize pool ever.
There are some other notable esports events in the 2026 calendar with significant prize pools, including the M8 World Championship for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and the Apex Legends Global Series 2026 Championship. The latter is expected to have a prize pool of around $2 million this year, meaning it could pay similarly to the CDL Champs.
Nevertheless, the five events outlined in this article are among the most important esports tournaments to keep an eye on this year. The winners are set to receive significant prizes and performance bonuses, while attracting a large audience. If you are watching, you can also bet money on the outcomes of major esports events at Stake.com.
