We have all seen the huge numbers TI5 has generated. One of the biggest eSports prize pools just keeps getting bigger, at over 16 Million Dollars, this year’s TI5 will be one to watch. But are we forgetting Valve’s other popular eSports game? With all the work put into getting those Dota2 numbers, what has Valve done for CS:GO? Reddit user theflyingdj has just made a post discussion that, saying:
At ESL One Katowice, Valve gave out 1.5 million USD through the sticker revenue
Maybe it was overlooked, maybe it is just not as present because it was in a recent announcement, but CS:GO has significant crowdfunding through the sticker system at Majors. In Katowice, teams got more than 1.5 million as a result of that: http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/2015/06/12025/While it is not directly visible as prize money, it is still a huge factor for all the players and teams at the Major, and it is a factor several times every year. If you assume 3 Majors per year, these are almost 5 million USD going directly from Valve to the teams, and as the viewer base grows this becomes even bigger.
Wow, so CS:GO is not forgotten, but is getting a ton of great support. There is more in the full post about even more behind the scenes Valve help. You can check it out here.