Champions League Twenty20 2009 Prize Money

The inaugural edition of Champions League twenty20 is currently going on in India with the participation of 12 teams from India, Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies. This is the first ever cricket tournament where domestic champions of different countries are participating. If this is not enough to attract you, then you should know Champions League Twenty20 2009 offers prize money of $6 million, an unprecedented amount for any cricket tournament.

No doubt, it is a lucrative tournament and it is a big way for the clubs or franchises and players to make some good cash in through this tournament. Organized by BCCI, the tournament can be compared to UEFA Champions League of soccer. Three teams from India (including IPL Champion and Runner up), two teams from Australia, England and South Africa each, and one team from Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand are participating in the tournament. All the teams know that lucrative prize money is up for grab and if they can win the tournament, it would make a fortune for them.

The tournament format is not very complex. 12 teams are divided into 4 groups of 3 teams each. In each group, all of the three teams will play against each other in a round robin league system. Winning team earns 2 points, while the losing side ends up winning no point. For a tied, no result or abandoned match, each of the two teams will be awarded 1 point. Four group champions in terms of points achieved will progress to the semi final. Winners of the two semi finals will face each other in the final match of the tournament on 23 October 2009.

Here, you can see how the total prize money will be distributed among the participating teams:

Winning team will receive $2,500,000

Runner up team will be given $1,300,000

Each of the two losing semi finalists will get $500,000

Second-placed teams in each group will receive $200,000

Third-placed teams in each group will earn $100,000

This is a really an eye-catching prize money. Even ICC can not offer $2,500,00 as prize money for the winner of ICC World Cup or ICC World Twenty20. Though I could not collect any information about the prize money of man of the match and man of the tournament awards, I guess prize money of these awards will be pretty much high. That means the total prize money of the tournament will be even bigger. Here, it is noteworthy that cricket fans from 160 countries across the globe will be able to watch this tournament on television. Now, let us see if players can put their best in the tournament and entertain the cricket fans around the world with such a big amount of prize money in offer.