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With the loss of The International 2020, comes an opportunity for other games to dominate the prize pool earnings. If the previous years saw DOTA 2 teams dominate the category, this year is different as a Call of Duty team became the highest esports earner. In a data compiled by The Esports Observer, it revealed that Dallas Empire took home the highest prize pool earnings in 2020. The team garnered $1.80 million in prize money with the inaugural Call of Duty League season as a primary contributor. The Empire won $1.5 million dollars after defeating Atlanta Faze in a best-of-9 series.
Top 10 Esports Teams and Players of 2020 by Total Prize Pool according to @esportsobserved
Teams: https://t.co/GQGr6zdDnn
Players: https://t.co/OAJR4VE6ne pic.twitter.com/3MHwEhjyF3
— CDL Intel (@intelCDL) January 3, 2021
Other notable teams included in the list were their rivals Atlanta Faze, Overwatch League champions San Francisco Shock, and other established organizations like Team Liquid, Virtus Pro, G2 Esports, and Team SoloMid in the esports scape.
Though the data showed that the Call of Duty scene is a potential contender, it likewise highlighted the effects of the pandemic. If the previous years saw $240 million of prize pool winnings, this year only accumulated $92 million in the esports scene as a whole. The absence of DOTA's biggest culmination event was the main factor for the decline in winnings.
In fact most of the teams in the top 10 who have DOTA teams such as Fnatic, Virtus Pro, and Team Liquid, relied on the winnings of their other rosters to keep them afloat. Team Secret is the only team in the list that relied heavily on DOTA 2's earnings.
Now that most developers have already adapted to the pandemic, it's possible that the numbers will improve this 2021. Perhaps this could likewise serve as a wakeup call for Valve to finally make their moves in keeping DOTA's flagship event alive with 2020 being quite a painful year financially not just in esports but everywhere else.
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