One of the things that surprised me about the recent NC4 announcement was that the $100k prize pool went entirely to the top 8 players. This has opened up some discussion about the ideal prize pool distribution for AoE1/2/3/4 tournaments. Note: this is not an argument about the total prize pool of a given tournament, so keep your claws in about the amount a given tournament received compared to another.
First, what is the purpose of a prize pool? Most would say it is an incentive to practice and participate in a tournament. Viper/Hera/Lierrey aren't getting out of bed to potentially win $100. But how much do you need to incentivize the pros? Is there a large difference in how much pros practice/try in a tournament with the winner receiving 20k instead of 30k? What about the top players who realistically won't make the semi-finals. Should we try to incentivize them to practice and participate by having prize pools that reach into the Ro16 and Ro32? Or should we focus on the biggest names?
A few recent examples are below, but overall, the recent S-tier AoE2 tourneys have had prize pools that reach into the Ro16 at minimum, with most paying out all the way into the R032.
Wandering Warriors Cup:
1st: $6,250
2nd: $3,750
3-4th: $1,875
5-8th: $812.50
9-16th: $500
17-32nd: $250
Overall, a fairly deep distribution, with Ro32 players receiving a notable chunk of the prize pool.
KoTD4:
1st: $20,667
2nd: $10,333
3-4th: $6,200
5-8th: $2,583
9-12th: $1,808
13-16th: $1,292
17-32nd: $620
Much larger than WWC, and another tourney with prize pool reaching all the way into the Ro32.
Holy Cup:
1st: $5,000
2nd: $2,500
3-4th: $1,250
5-8th: $650
9-16th: $300
A smaller tourney, but with a prize pool reaching into the Ro16.
RBW5:
1st: $26k
2nd: $16k
3-4th: $8k
5-8th: $5k
9-14th: $2.5k
I believe Red Bull also sent cans of Red Bull / Hoodies / etc to event qualifiers in previous events but do not know if this is the case for RBW5. Notable that the prize pool did not reach into Ro32.
The Open Classic:
1st: $7,450
2nd: $5,000
3-4th: $3,250
5-8th: $2,500
9-12th: $1,500
13-16th: $750
17-32nd: $300
A similar prize pool to WWC, with prize pool reaching all the way to Ro32.
And for reference, AoE4 tourneys below. Overall, N4C is the5 times larger than the previous S-tier events, but only pays out to the top 8 players.
N4C:
1st: $30k
2nd: $20k
3-4th: $12.5k
5-6th: $7.5k
7-8th: $5k
Winter Championship:
1st: $7,000
2nd: $3,000
3-4th: $1,500
5-8th: $750
9-16th: $500
A smaller tourney, but with prize pool reaching into Ro16.
SteelSeries Prime Cup:
1st: $5,000
2nd: $3,000
3-4th: $1,500
5-8th: $750
9-16th: $500
17-32nd: $125
A smaller tourney, but notable that they still spread the prize pool into the Ro32, by reducing the amount of the winner.
So fellow members of the 'zone, what do you want to see from tournament prize pools? Should we have the biggest possible prizes for the top 8-16 players to keep the well-known names (Viper/Hera/Lierrey/etc) engaged and practicing hard? Or should we have tournaments with prize pools reaching into the Ro32 or even Ro64 to try to incentivize the Top 100 crowd to continue to try-hard and compete?
First, what is the purpose of a prize pool? Most would say it is an incentive to practice and participate in a tournament. Viper/Hera/Lierrey aren't getting out of bed to potentially win $100. But how much do you need to incentivize the pros? Is there a large difference in how much pros practice/try in a tournament with the winner receiving 20k instead of 30k? What about the top players who realistically won't make the semi-finals. Should we try to incentivize them to practice and participate by having prize pools that reach into the Ro16 and Ro32? Or should we focus on the biggest names?
A few recent examples are below, but overall, the recent S-tier AoE2 tourneys have had prize pools that reach into the Ro16 at minimum, with most paying out all the way into the R032.
Wandering Warriors Cup:
1st: $6,250
2nd: $3,750
3-4th: $1,875
5-8th: $812.50
9-16th: $500
17-32nd: $250
Overall, a fairly deep distribution, with Ro32 players receiving a notable chunk of the prize pool.
KoTD4:
1st: $20,667
2nd: $10,333
3-4th: $6,200
5-8th: $2,583
9-12th: $1,808
13-16th: $1,292
17-32nd: $620
Much larger than WWC, and another tourney with prize pool reaching all the way into the Ro32.
Holy Cup:
1st: $5,000
2nd: $2,500
3-4th: $1,250
5-8th: $650
9-16th: $300
A smaller tourney, but with a prize pool reaching into the Ro16.
RBW5:
1st: $26k
2nd: $16k
3-4th: $8k
5-8th: $5k
9-14th: $2.5k
I believe Red Bull also sent cans of Red Bull / Hoodies / etc to event qualifiers in previous events but do not know if this is the case for RBW5. Notable that the prize pool did not reach into Ro32.
The Open Classic:
1st: $7,450
2nd: $5,000
3-4th: $3,250
5-8th: $2,500
9-12th: $1,500
13-16th: $750
17-32nd: $300
A similar prize pool to WWC, with prize pool reaching all the way to Ro32.
And for reference, AoE4 tourneys below. Overall, N4C is the5 times larger than the previous S-tier events, but only pays out to the top 8 players.
N4C:
1st: $30k
2nd: $20k
3-4th: $12.5k
5-6th: $7.5k
7-8th: $5k
Winter Championship:
1st: $7,000
2nd: $3,000
3-4th: $1,500
5-8th: $750
9-16th: $500
A smaller tourney, but with prize pool reaching into Ro16.
SteelSeries Prime Cup:
1st: $5,000
2nd: $3,000
3-4th: $1,500
5-8th: $750
9-16th: $500
17-32nd: $125
A smaller tourney, but notable that they still spread the prize pool into the Ro32, by reducing the amount of the winner.
So fellow members of the 'zone, what do you want to see from tournament prize pools? Should we have the biggest possible prizes for the top 8-16 players to keep the well-known names (Viper/Hera/Lierrey/etc) engaged and practicing hard? Or should we have tournaments with prize pools reaching into the Ro32 or even Ro64 to try to incentivize the Top 100 crowd to continue to try-hard and compete?