Female esports players earn far less prize money than men even when skill levels are similar

By Hugo Francisco de SouzaReviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Mar 16 2026

A new analysis of professional Counter-Strike tournaments reveals that skill alone does not guarantee visibility or earnings in esports, highlighting how audience dynamics and structural factors may shape gender disparities in one of gaming’s fastest-growing industries.

Study: Gender, performance, and prize money: a study of pay discrimination against female teams in eSports. Image Credit: PintoArt / Shutterstock

In a recent study published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Petr Parshakov examines gender-based disparities within the professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) ecosystem. The study analyzes data from the female-only ESL Impact League and compares it with equivalent male competition, focusing primarily on disparities in viewership and prize money.

Study findings indicate that female players receive significantly fewer views and lower prize earnings than their male counterparts, even when controlling for performance metrics such as kill-to-death (KD) ratio and including regression interaction terms. These findings suggest that in the world of professional digital gaming, "merit" may be filtered through a lens of gendered audience bias and structural economic inequities, although the study’s observational design prevents causal mechanisms from being definitively established.

Esports offers a unique setting to examine gender inequality

Gender-based disparities in sports viewership and pay gaps are by no means a novel phenomenon, with an extensive body of literature documenting these practices in traditional sports like soccer and basketball. These pay gaps have historically been defended by highlighting physiological differences between males and females (e.g., speed or strength).

Esports (electronic sports), however, offers a "natural laboratory" to test these justifications. Gender-equality activists argue that success in digital gaming titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) depends almost exclusively on attributes that are not inherently gendered (e.g., reaction time and motor skills).

Consequently, the now-billion-dollar global esports industry faces increasing criticism for its lack of gender inclusivity and fairness. Increasing scrutiny in the sector is further exacerbated by accounts from prominent female players who increasingly report sexist attitudes and structural barriers that restrict their professional growth.

Unfortunately, while qualitative accounts of these gender-associated struggles are common, quantitative evidence linking performance to media exposure (viewership) and actual earnings remains scarce.

Researchers analyze tournament data to compare performance and rewards

The present study sought to address this knowledge gap and inform future esports policy aimed at mitigating gender-based disparities in the world of professional gaming. The study used a dataset of competitive CS:GO tournaments from 2022 to 2024.

The primary dataset was derived from the Electronic Sports League (ESL) Impact League, a premier online gaming platform designed to foster female talent. This dataset was compared against equivalent high-tier male competitions.

The study dataset comprised HLTV (a leading esports statistics platform) and Twitch (a popular streaming service) records spanning 40 tournaments involving 163 teams (96 of which were female) and over 300 match-level observations and several thousand underlying player performance records. The primary performance metric analyzed in the study was participants’ Kill-to-Death (KD) ratios - a standard measure of a player’s individual efficiency in matches.

Statistical modelling employed two independent regression models (viewership analysis and prize money analysis) to isolate the impact of gender on the study’s two main endpoints: 1. Total match views, and 2. Prize money won. These models included team-level fixed effects and interaction terms to determine whether playing well (as indicated by high KD) yielded the same financial and visibility benefits for women as it did for men.

Female players receive fewer views and smaller prize earnings

Regression analysis revealed a stark "gender gap" across all major metrics under investigation. When comparing potential economic discrepancies, male players were observed to, on average, win $28,202, while female players won just $5,709 (p < 0.001) in equivalent high-tier professional competitions.

Alarming viewership discrepancies were found to be even wider, with male players averaging 6,053,000 views compared to only 196,000 for females (p < 0.001). While male winners demonstrated a slightly higher mean KD ratio than their female counterparts, these differences were statistically significant but modest (p = 0.012) compared with the much larger disparities observed in viewership and prize money.

Furthermore, the study highlighted that the performance comparison is limited because the groups compete in separate, gender-segregated tournament environments. Interaction term analysis corroborated this claim by showing that while a high KD ratio is positively associated with more views for both genders, this effect is significantly weaker among women (p < 0.05).

However, the study identified one notable nuance: among female players, increased viewership was associated with a larger relative increase in prize money than among men. This suggests that highly visible women may partially offset weaker direct returns to performance through enhanced media exposure, possibly reflecting sponsor or organizer initiatives to promote diversity in esports competitions.

Researchers highlight structural inequities in esports economics

The present study highlights that, in line with traditional sports, gendered biases may influence both the visibility and financial structures of professional gaming. While the study is limited by the current segregation of male and female tournaments and by the observational nature of the data, it highlights the urgent need for systemic changes across both esports policy and audience engagement.

The study concludes by underscoring that addressing gender-based inequities is not just a matter of social justice but is essential for the long-term sustainability and talent pipeline of the entire professional gaming industry.