The DLF Indian Premier League could become one of the world's richest domestic cricket tournaments with a winners' cheque of Rs 4.8 crore and overall prize money of Rs 12 crore being offered for the inaugural tournament.

The tournament, which has teams owned by Bollywood stars and corporate bigwigs, kicks-off on April 18.

The tournament's runner-up will be richer by Rs 2.4 crore while even the team finishing last gets Rs 40 lakh.

"The Rs. 4.8 crore winners' purse makes the DLF IPL truly one of the richest events for a domestic Twenty20 league anywhere in the world," IPL chairman and Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Lalit Modi said.

The prize-money break-up is such that even the two losing semi-finalists will earn in crores (Rs 1.2 crore) for making it that far.

The prize-money will then be divided among the other teams, with the team finishing fifth collecting Rs 80 lakh, and the sixth finisher Rs 70 lakh.

The team finishing seventh will get Rs 50 lakh.

The opening match of the tournament is between Shah Rukh Khan's [Images] Kolkata Knight Riders and Vijay Mallya's [Images] Bangalore Royal Challengers, at the Chinnaswamy stadium, in Bangalore. Fifty-nine matches will be played over 44 days.