Gender, performance, and prize money: a study of pay discrimination against female teams in eSports

This study investigates gender‑based disparities in viewership and prize money within Counter‑Strike: Global Offensive competitions, using data from the ESL Impact League (female‑only) and comparable male leagues. Because esports performance depends chiefly on strategic choices and fine motor skills rather than physical strength, this setting offers a distinctive lens for examining gender equity where bodily differences are minimized. Employing regression analysis, we examine how performance (kill‑to‑death ratio) and viewership translate into financial rewards, with particular attention to the interaction effects of gender on these relationships. Our findings reveal significant disparities: female players receive, on average, fewer views and lower prize money than male players, even when performance is held constant. Moreover, although performance raises views and prize money for both genders, the effect of performance on views is weaker for female players. These results contribute to a broader understanding of gender inequities in sport by highlighting the interplay between performance metrics, media exposure, and economic outcomes in the rapidly growing field of esports. A key limitation is that our cross‑sectional observational design precludes strong causal claims about the mechanisms behind these disparities.