The Fight for Contestants

This paper examines the relationship between potential participants and the prize structures of StarCraft II tournaments. The study found that when tournament organizers aim to maximize participation of top ranked players, a multiple prize structure is optimal if sensitivity is sufficiently high; a single prize structure is optimal if sensitivity is sufficiently low. Furthermore, steep prize structures and the total prize pool are strong significant performance incentives for participants in tournaments with a short duration. The empirical data from professional StarCraft II tournaments show that, over the past couple of years, the prize structures of tournaments in general have become significantly flatter