IEM Cologne Major has massive $1.25 million prize pool, but the real money lies elsewhere

The IEM Cologne Main is about to be one of many largest Counter-Strike 2 occasions of the yr. Beginning on June 2nd, it can happen on the LANXESS Area in Germany and have a $1.25 million prize pool.

This places it within the top 10 Counter-Strike 2 tournaments by prize pool. However there could also be an even bigger supply of earnings for taking part groups.

IEM Cologne is a large event spanning three weeks. Stage 1 runs from June 2nd to June fifth, with the eight qualifying groups advancing to Stage 2. They be part of eight straight seeded groups in two teams of eight, competing from June sixth to June ninth. Stage 3 turns to best-of-three matches, with the highest eight groups advancing to a single-elimination bracket.

These eight groups will be part of straight seeded groups: Workforce Vitality, FURIA, Natus Vincere, FURIA, Falcons, MOUZ, Aurora, The MongolZ, and PARIVISION.

The group that locations first will get $500,000 of the prize pool. The runner-up group will get $170,000. Third and fourth-place groups get $80,000. Groups that place fifth by way of eighth get $45,000.

Nonetheless, that’s not the one means groups generate income at IEM Cologne. The occasion will run Valve’s new sticker revenue-sharing system. Sticker capsules shall be bought over the event’s three weeks, permitting gamers to help their favourite groups in-game.

StarLadder Main Berlin noticed $11 million in sticker gross sales income in 2019, proving it to be a profitable endeavor for qualifying groups. PGL Stockholm and Antwerp collected $70 million mixed. Final yr’s BLAST.television Paris Main allegedly made $110 million, not even together with Vitality’s Champions capsule. Given how sticker gross sales income was break up, every Contenders group obtained $4.5 million plus $250,000 per participant, Legends earned $3.5 million per group and $200,000 per participant, and Challengers acquired $2.6 million per group and $200,000 per participant.

For the IEM Cologne Main, the sticker income mannequin has some massive modifications. Match organizers now retain 5% of the 50% pool, beforehand reserved for organizations. The remaining 45% is shared amongst groups, break up primarily based on their Valve Regional Standings positions. The best-ranked group will get 2.85%.

This nonetheless permits lower-ranked groups to see a good sum of money. Why is that vital? Since you want these newer and smaller groups to stay energetic within the esports scene. As a rule, groups that aren’t thought of the largest on this planet don’t earn sufficient prize or sponsorship cash to thrive, eradicating many groups from the ecosystem.

This has been an enormous subject of dialogue within the esports trade, with FlyQuest even promising to donate to underrepresented groups and esports scenes that want funding earlier this yr. Different scenes have felt the stress, with the high salaries of Dota 2’s best players draining the scene dry.

Counter-Strike has typically been revered for its help of smaller groups and Tier 2 tournaments. Having cash for taking part groups past the prize pool encourages groups to put money into their gamers and conjures up these gamers to push themselves to qualify. You’ll get all-around higher tournaments and much more gifted groups within the combine.

As a substitute of franchise leagues that cater to groups that paid to take part and depart others out of the event and with out help, Counter-Strike’s esports scene has the mentality that anybody ought to be allowed to qualify for a serious in the event that they’re adequate.

Mentioned one fan on Reddit: “The longevity of the Tier 2-3 scene is primarily pushed by the decentralized event circuit and the excessive quantity of liquidity from pores and skin markets. Not like franchised leagues, this open ecosystem permits smaller orgs to keep up operations by way of area of interest sponsorships and regional betting partnerships.”

That is positively one thing the esports scene wants proper now because the hype begins to die down and the cash fizzles out.