How Much Do Pro Esports Players Make?

A look at the salaries of some of the world’s top professional esports players and how much they earn from tournaments and sponsorships.

The Big Money Tournaments

The world of professional esports has seen prize pools grow exponentially in recent years, with some of the biggest tournaments now offering millions of dollars in prize money. This has led to a rapid increase in the number of professional esports players, as well as the salaries they are able to command. So, just how much do pro esports players make?

The International

The International (TI) is an annual Dota 2 esports tournament hosted by Valve Corporation, the game’s developer. The most recent tournament in 2019 awarded over 34 million dollars in prize money, breaking 2018’s previous record of over 25 million. The largest ever Individual prize was awarded to Johan Sundstein (N0tail) of OG who took home over $4 million dollars.

The League of Legends World Championship

The League of Legends World Championship (commonly referred to as Worlds) is a yearly international tournament that brings together the top teams from each league in a battle to hoist the Summoner’s Cup and earn the title of World Champion. Along with the mid-season invitational, it is one of the most watched events in the gaming calendar. The tournament has been running since 2011 and is hosted by developer Riot Games in a different location each year. In 2018, the event was held in South Korea and attracted over 100 million unique viewers, with a peak concurrent viewership of almost doeble that at 199 million.

The prize pool for 2019 was $2.25 million, which was crowdfunded through in-game purchases. The winning team, FunPlus Phoenix, took home $834,375 while second place G2 Esports earned $349,875. These figures pale in comparison to some of the other tournaments on this list but it’s important to remember that many of those events are open to players from all over the world, not just one region.

The Dota 2 Major Championships

The Dota 2 Major Championships are the four annual tournaments hosted by Valve Corporation that saw the introduction of the game’s Major tournament system. They are the largest and most prestigious events on the Dota 2 calendar, with each one offering a base prize pool of at least US$3 million.

The Players

In order to find out how much do pro esports players make, we need to look at the different types of esports players. There are the professional players who play for teams and organizations, and then there are the semi-professional or amateur players who may not play for an organization but still play at a high level.

The Top Earning Players

In order to make it to the top ranks of professional esports, gamers need more than just raw talent. They must dedicate countless hours to perfecting their craft, often foregoing traditional schooling or even full-time employment. The best players in the world are now being rewarded with multimillion-dollar salaries and prize winnings, thanks to the rapidly growing popularity of competitive gaming.

Here are some of the highest-earning esports players in the world:

1. Johan “N0tail” Sundstein (Dota 2): $6.9 million
2. Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka (Dota 2): $5.5 million
3. Anathan “Ana” Pham (Dota 2): $5.1 million
4. Sebastian “Ceb” Auel (Dota 2): $4.4 million
5.Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen (Dota 2): $4 million

The Highest Paid Players

In 2018, the top 10% of professional esports players earned more than $960,000 USD from prize money alone. The world’s top esports player, Johan Sundstein, aka N0tail, earned over $6.8 million in prize money last year – and that’s not including any income from sponsorships or streaming platforms like Twitch.

While there are many different types of gaming tournaments with varying prize pools, the annual Dota 2 International tournament remains the largest and most lucrative event in competitive gaming. In 2018, the total prize pool for the International was a whopping $25.5 million – almost double the amount of the 2017 tournament.

The following table lists the world’s 20 highest-paid esports players, all of whom earned over $1 million in prize money last year:

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Earnings (USD) |
|——|—————————————|——————--|———————--|
| 1 | Johan Sundstein | Denmark | $6,886,591 |
| 2 | Jesse Vainikka | Finland | $5,504,511 |
| 3 | Anathan Pham | Australia | $4, 470 ,099 |
| 4 | Topias Taavitsainen | Finland :$3 ,977 ,537 |
| 5 Joona Sotala Finland $3 ,913 ,139 6 Lasse Urpalainen Finland $3 ,545 ,” 7 Saahil Arora United States $3 ,514 ,” 8 Amer Al-Barkawi Jordan $2 3,” 9 Ivan Borislavov Santorin Bulgaria $2 ,” 10 Maroun Merhej Lebanon $1,” 11 Kuro Takhasomi Germany $1,” 12 Gustav Magnusson Sweden $1 ,” 13 Martin Larsson Sweden “.8” 14 Aliwi Omar Morocco “.8” 15 Ivan Ivanov Bulgaria “.7 16 composition China “.7” 17 Tuomosensation Finland 7 18 Vladimir Furdik Slovakia .6 19 Quinn Johnson-Frey United States .6 20 Kirill Skvortsov Russia .5

The Teams

Pro esports is a young industry that is constantly evolving. Players are getting signed to teams, organizations are created, and prize pools are growing. With all of this activity, it can be hard to keep track of how much each player is actually making. In this article, we will take a look at the five highest earning professional esports teams in the world.

The Most Successful Teams

The following teams are the most successful ones in esports history. Their achievements, prize money earnings, and player roster changes have shaped the competitive landscape of the games they participate in.

1. Cloud9

Cloud9 is an American esports organization that fields teams in nearly a dozen different video games. They are one of the most decorated North American esports organizations, having won numerous championships across multiple games. Perhaps their most notable victory came at the 2018 Boston Major, where their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team defeated FaZe Clan to win $500,000.

2. SK Telecom T1

SK Telecom T1 is a South Korean esports organization that is best known for their success in League of Legends. They are the only team to have won three League of Legends World Championships and are widely considered to be one of the best LoL teams of all time. In addition to their LoL team, SKT T1 also has successful rosters in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, and Overwatch.

3. Fnatic

Fnatic is a professional esports organization based in the United Kingdom. Theycurrently have players competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, Overwatch, and Rainbow Six Siege. In total, Fnatic has won over $10 million dollars in prize money across all games and is one of the most successful esports organizations in the world.

4. Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses is an American professional gaming organization founded in 1999. They were one of the first North American organizations to pick up a Counter-Strike team and they currently also field rosters in Dota 2, StarCraft II, and Halo 5: Guardians. Evil Geniuses has seen success across multiple games and has earned over $13 million dollars in prize money over the years

The Highest Paid Teams

Pro gaming teams are similar to traditional sports teams. They have coaches, managers, analysts, and substitutes. The players are usually retired pro gamers who coach the current players on the strategies used in past tournaments. Most pro gaming teams are sponsored by PC manufacturers, energy drink brands, or other gaming companies. The teams compete in tournaments around the world for prizes that can range from a few hundred dollars to a million dollars.

The ten most highest-paid pro gaming teams of 2019 are:
1. Evil Geniuses – $4,077,147.14
2. Team Liquid – $3,854,499.98
3. OG – $3,629,233.33
4. Fnatic – $3,587,885.71
5. 100 Thieves – $3,449,999.96
6. G2 Esports – $3,355,555.56
7. Natus Vincere – $2,896,250
8 PSG Esports – $2,841,666.67
9 GenG – $2,833333.34
10 Team SoloMid – $2,764705

The Future of Pro Esports

As the world of professional esports continues to grow, so does the potential for earnigns. Pro gamers can make a very good living streaming their gameplay or taking part in tournaments, and the very top players can earn millions of dollars per year.

However, it’s important to remember that most pro gamers are not earning anything close to that amount. The vast majority of professionals are only earning a few thousand dollars per year, and many are not earning anything at all. The future of professional esports is still very much up in the air, but it’s clear that there is potential for huge earnings for those who are able to make it to the top.