DreamHack Dallas announces $2m in prizing, but the Fortnite Open has outraged fans

This year’s DreamHack, a global gaming festival with tournaments for popular titles, is set to be the biggest one yet with over $2 million to win across coding and esports competitions. However, not everyone is thrilled with the prize pool distribution.

Fans are up in arms after it was revealed that Fortnite Open for DreamHack would offer $1,000 to the winner, a 99% decrease from the $420,000 offered in 2022.

Dreamhack Dallas will take place in collaboration with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) from May 23rd to the 25th, 2025 at the Kay Bailer Hutchinson Convention Center.

This year DreamHack Dallas announced it would further expand its gaming competitions. It will introduce brand-new games alongside standard Call of Duty, Counter-Strike 2 , Halo, and Fortnite tournaments.

Shahin Zarrabi, Feestival Vice President for EFG, said: “Esports is a pillar of how the community celebrates DreamHack Dallas, and we’re pulling out all the stops this year.

“From mainstays like IEM Dallas to iconic esports titles like Halo and Call of Duty to rising games like Brawl Stars and GeoGuessr, DreamHack Dallas is set to be nothing short of massive.

“It will be the biggest multi-esports event ever hosted on American soil – a spectacle unlike anything the region has seen before.”

Its $2 million prize pool offer is enough to grab anyone’s attention, but further inspection has invited criticism from esports organisations.

The BYOC LAN Party offers 11 games, from competitive shooters like Marvel Rivals to creative titles like Minecraft. Each game has a $8,000 prize pool, which some argue only attracts local players due to its relatively low reward.

Elite Esports made a post on X criticising the decision to lower prize pool, creating less of an incentive for overseas participants. They said: “Dreamhack’s Prize Pool in 2019 was $250,000 and 2022 was $427,430.

“In 2025, they are hosting a $1,000 LAN. BYOC passes to participate in the LAN is upward $250. That is a 99.77% decrease in prize pool.”

This has baffled fans considering the substantial prize pool on offer for other games.

Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Dallas has a $1m prize pool tournament for Counter-Strike 2.​ The Call of Duty League Major IV and Challengers Open has teams competing for a $100,000 prize pool.​ The Halo Championship Series Open is also offering $150,000 in prizes. This is a big contrast from the Fortnite Open.

Elite Esports member BLZE said: “The winner will probably lose money after travel costs and etc. Absolute insanity.”