Skillz paid out $8 million in prize money to the 10 best users on the platform in 2018. Among the 10, seven were female gamers.

Female Esports Players Dominate Skillz’ 2018 List of Top Earners

Esports mobile platform Skillz rewards gaming prowess, but not necessarily in games such as the all-familiar Fortnite, League of Legends, Rocket League, or NBA 2K.

In 2018 alone, the top 10 gamers on the platform received $8 million – quite the sum. In comparison, Rocket League Season 7th prize pool is listed as $1 million which is to be divvied up by all participants.

Skillz’ focus is slightly different, with the company offering Solitaire, word races, pool, basketball, and even domino as its esports of choice. Not the established titles exactly. And yet, it takes boldness and daring to do what Skillz CEO and founder Andrew Paradise did in re-imagining gaming.

In a brief statement, Mr. Paradise explained the motivation behind mobile gaming:

Similar to how radio and television revolutionized the future of sports, Skillz is using mobile technology to do the same for eSports.

Apparently, he didn’t go after the big titles, feeling perhaps that the market had been saturated with sufficient tournament platforms focusing on mainstream esports, including FACEIT, Battlefy, Smash and a few others already dominating the space.

Some of those might have come after Skillz was created, that’s true, but Mr. Paradise presciently cornered a niche.

Are You Seriously Calling Tetris an Esports?

Quite so. After all, some people are bound to be better at Tetris, whether it’s out of love for the game or the ambition to amass over $1 million in revenue over the course of 12 months. To beat the best, you need skill and knowledge that rivals their own – the essence of esports.

In 2018, user Kmamba1090 fetched $1,418,508, amassing a respectable prize money, and all done in a single year. The runner-up also came with a fair share of the prize, netting $1,321,255.

With so much money in circulation, it’s easy to see why people would be at least piqued to hop over and check Skillz out. By September, 2018, the platform amassed $400 million in revenue, with the company dishing out $100 million in the 5 months prior to that date.

A Female Touch

Female gamers out-number their male counterparts when it comes to mobile titles. It’s simply in our nature to flick through our phones more often, it seems.

With girl gamers taking a leading role in mobile titles, it’s understandable that they we’d opt for the less gory type of gaming, while still enjoying the mainstream games, though not necessarily spending so much time playing those.

This, though, may only be a stepping-stone to girls transitioning into even more ambitious games and roles in the esports industry. A recent report by HitmarkeJobs.com revealed that nearly 20% of all esports jobs & positions were taken by women.

Apparently, there’s a sufficient interest on the part of female gamers. Skillz remains a platform that successfully engages gamers and dishes out solid amounts without putting any pressure on gamers.

Given the generous returns for players themselves, it’s safe to say that Skillz has imagined a version of esports that, though not immediately popular, works very well indeed.