HangOn
EsportsTournamentsOrganisers

How to Split Tournament Prize Money Fairly

Team HangOn·6 Oct 2026·5 min read

Most tournament arguments start with money. A clear prize split, announced before registrations open, avoids almost all of them. Here's how organisers usually do it.

Work out the pool

Prize pool = entry fee × teams, minus your costs or fee. The prize pool calculator does this and splits it for you.

Common splits

  • Winner takes all — exciting but discourages teams who know they won't win.
  • 70/30 — good for small brackets of 8 or fewer.
  • 50/30/20 — the most common for 16–32 teams.
  • Top five — for larger fields, so more teams have something to play for.

Announce it clearly

Publish the split, payout method and timeline with the rules. If teams split money between players, show the per-player share too.

On HangOn, hosts set the split when creating a tournament, and players register and pay in the app. See host a gaming tournament and our guide to hosting a BGMI tournament.

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