Playing computer games is no longer a hobby, it’s a professional sport that comes with a prize pool worth more than $10 million.
And the successful team takes home a whopping $5 million, which is more than Novak Djokovic collected after beating Roger Federer in an epic five-set final battle at Wimbledon.
That healthy payday went to a team of gaming wizards from China at The International 4 in Seattle.
The hugely popular four-day eSports event, which has an audience of millions, saw teams compete in the multiple-player battle arena game Dota 2.
Team Newbee, described as China’s Dream Team after being scouted from other successful Chinese teams and formed in February specifically for this tournament, were crowned the champions.
The prize money will be split between the five players, their coaches and managers.
Runners-up Vici Gaming will go home with nearly $1.5 million.
The International 4 is by far the most prominent event in the history of competitive gaming — not only does it involve serious cash (up from the $7.2 million in last year’s tournament), but the final was broadcast live in the United States on ESPN.
Players fund the prize pool by purchasing The International Compendium, a virtual booklet that contains ways to interact with the Dota 2 tournament such as watching games, collecting player cards and making tournament predictions.