How Much Do Esports Players Make?
A comprehensive guide on how much do esports players make. We cover salaries of the most popular games, tournaments, and events.
Salaries by Game
The game that an esports professional plays will have a large impact on how much money they can make. Some games simply don’t have the same level of prize pools or organization as others. Games like Overwatch, League of Legends, and CS:GO have large fan bases and large tournaments with correspondingly large prize pools.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
While earnings vary massively from game to game, and player to player within games, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is comfortably top of the table, with the best players in the world bringing in six or seven-figure annual sums.
The game’s popularity has been on the rise over the past few years, with prize money increasing along with it. Players have been known to earn over $1 million in a single year from tournament winnings, sponsorship deals and Twitch streaming incomes.
The most successful CS:GO players are able to command high salaries due to their popularity and skill level. The very best players can make millions of dollars per year from tournament winnings, sponsorship deals and Twitch streaming incomes.
CS:GO is one of the most popular games in the world right now, with a huge professional scene and massive prize pools. The best players in the world can make millions of dollars per year from tournament winnings alone. If you’re good enough, you could be one of them!
Dota 2
While the top dogs in Dota 2 can make quite a bit of money, the majority of players make far less. The games that are played in the Dota 2 Internationals have purse winnings that start at $1.6 million and go up from there. However, only 18 teams are invited to play in this event, so most professional Dota 2 players are not going to be making anywhere near that amount of money.
The median salary for a Dota 2 pro is around $4,000 per month. Of course, this number can vary greatly based on a number of factors, such as whether or not a player is on a team, how successful that team is, and whether or not the player streams their gameplay on platforms like Twitch. In general, however, it is safe to say that most professional Dota 2 players are not making millions of dollars per year.
League of Legends
Riot Games’ popular title League of Legends is one of the biggest games in the world, and its pro scene is just as large. The game has one of the biggest prize pools in esports, with over $30 million up for grabs in 2019. The average salary for a League of Legends pro player is just over $370,000 per year. The top earners in the game make over $1 million per year from salary and prize money.
Salaries by Region
There is a huge disparity in the amount that esports players are earning around the world. Players in North America and Europe are earning the most, with some players making millions of dollars a year. In contrast, players in China and South Korea are only earning a few thousand dollars a year. This is due to the different levels of investment in esports around the world.
North America
In North America, the average salary for an esports player is $60,000 per year. The top earners in the region make over $200,000 per year.
Europe
Just like any other professional sport, esports players are paid for their time and talent. But how much do they make? The short answer is: it depends. Salaries can vary based on a number of factors, including the player’s region, experience, and skill level.
In general, however, we can say that professional esports players in Europe earn significantly more than those in other regions. For example, the average salary for a League of Legends player in Europe is $60,000, while the average salary for a North American player is just $24,000. This discrepancy is due in part to the fact that there are simply more opportunities for European players to compete and earn prize money.
That said, it’s important to remember that even within Europe, salaries can vary widely. For example, a top-tier player in Sweden might make $100,000 per year, while a mid-level player in Poland might only make $20,000. So while we can provide some general information about salaries in Europe, the best way to find out how much a particular player makes is to ask them directly!
Asia
In Asia, esports salaries vary greatly depending on the game, organization, and country in which the player competes. For example, a player in South Korea competing in League of Legends may earn a salary that is much higher than a player in China competing in the same game. In general, though, most esports athletes in Asia earn between $10,000 and $100,000 per year.
Tournament Winnings
Generally, the higher the skill level of the player, the more money they will make from tournaments. The best players in the world can make millions of dollars per year from prize money alone. The average salary for an esports player is around $60,000 per year. However, there are very few professional esports players who make a living wage from tournament winnings alone. The majority of professional esports players supplement their income with sponsorships and content creation.
The International
The International is an annual Dota 2 esports tournament hosted by Valve Corporation, the game’s developer. The tournament consists of 18 teams; 12 from China, two each from North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, and one from South America. The winner of The International receives the Aegis of Champions, a trophy made of gold and silver that is 1.69 metres tall and weighs approximately 50 kg.
The League of Legends World Championship
In 2016, the world championship for the popular game League of Legends had a prize pool of $6.7 million. The first place team won $2.4 million, or 36% of the total prize pool. The tournament had 24 teams competing from all over the world, with players from North America, Europe, South Korea, and China.
The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championships
The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championships (often referred to as CS:GO Majors) are tournaments with a prize pool of $1,000,000 (previously $250,000) sponsored by Valve introduced in 2013, with the inaugural Major held in November 2013 at DreamHack Winter 2013. They are only held once per year. Valve adds $1 from every sale of the stickers and player autographs to the prize pool. The current Major is IEM Katowice 2019.
The first Major of 2019 was hosted in Katowice, Poland and had a prize pool of US$1 million. Of that, US$500,000 was awarded to the winning team Astralis while US$200,000 went to the second place finisher Team Liquid. The full prize distribution is as follows:
1st: $500,000
2nd: $200,000
3-4th: $70,000
5-8th: $35,000
9-16th: $8,750
Sponsorships
Team Liquid
Team Liquid is a professional esports organization founded in the Netherlands in 2000. Originally a Brood War clan, the team switched to StarCraft II during the Wings of Liberty beta in 2010. They earned a place in the 2014 StarCraft II World Championship Series by winning the North American qualifier. They are one of only two non-Korean teams to have won a premier Korean tournament, taking first place at Overwatch APEX Season 2.
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses is an American professional gaming organization known for its strong StarCraft: Brood War and Warcraft 3 showings. EG has also had great success in Counter-Strike, Quake, Halo, Dota 2, Smite, and more recent games such as Overwatch and Apex Legends.
EG was founded as a clan on May 31st, 1999 by Alex “Pokebunny” Didilica and Andrew “Iddqd” Williamson. The two of them gathered the best players they could find to create a team that could take on anyone. The original roster consisted of athletes from all over the world, including players from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Canada, and the United States.
In its first year of existence, EG dominated the online gaming world with tournament wins over some of the top clans around. On December 5th, 1999, they took first place in the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) Winter Tournament by defeating UK team fatal1ty in the finals. This victory solidified their status as one of the premier gaming organizations in the world.
In February 2000, EG added Korean players Lim “Boxer” Yo-Hwan and Lee “NaDa” Yoon-Yeol to their brood war roster. These two would go on to be among the most successful foreigners in Korea’s esports history.
EG’s Counter-Strike division was formed in March 2003 with the addition of North American playersCAUTION (later stylized as cArn)and Storm (later n0thing). Over the next few years, EG would go on to win numerous tournaments and establish themselves as one of the best teams in North America.
In 2008, Evil Geniuses expanded into Halo with the signing of Defy Media personalities Walshy and Snip3down. The team found immediate success with wins at Major League Gaming events Dallas 2008 and Toronto 2009. With Halo 3 coming to an end, Evil Geniuses transitioned into Halo: Reach with a new roster that included Aceu and Royzinho. The team won AGL 8 Chicago 2012 before Halo 5: Guardians was released. Evil Geniuses’ current Halo roster consists of SnakeBite (captain),royzinho Aceu , BubuDubu , onlysimon Postums , Lethul .
It wasn’t until September 2009 that Evil Geniuses made their first foray into Dota with the signing ofERSBinTheFireandSnoopyto compete in Defense of The Ancients tournaments. In 2010, they expanded their Dota division with three more members:DeMoN,,LightsOutAce,,andKecik Imba., The team found success early on by winning several tournaments in 2010 including World Cyber Games 2010 , World E-sports Professional Classic League S2 Finals , Esports Champions League S1 Finals . In 2011 they won Electronic Sports World Cup 2011 and GosuGamers Dota 2 Weekly #23 . 2012 saw more success for Evil Geniuses as they took first place atThe International 2012 after defeating defending champions Natus Vincere 3-1 in the grand finals. This victory cementedEvil Geniuses’ status as one of the premier Dota 2 teams in the world., Since then they have gone on to win many more tournaments including ESL One Frankfurt 2015 After TI6 , Fear stepped down as captain/coach and was replaced by former player Fly . DeMoN took a break from competitive play but returned in 2017 to coach OG who went on to win TI8 under his leadership.,criticisms As one As oneofesportsof ‘s biggest organizations,’s biggest organizations,’s biggest organizations,’s most decorated teams,’s most decorated teams,’s most decorated teams,,EG has been criticized for a number orof things things such such suchas signing underaged Playersplayersplayers orororforfeiting matchesmatchesmatches
100 Thieves
100 Thieves is an American esports organization founded in 2016 by former Call of Duty world champion and YouTube personality Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag. The organization also has partnerships with Adidas, Riot Games, and PlayStation. They compete in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, League of Legends, and Call of Duty.
Endorsements
Most of the money in esports comes from sponsorships and endorsements. Top players can make a lot of money from these deals, but the amounts vary widely. The best players in the world can make millions of dollars per year from these sources, but most players make much less.
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins
As one of the most popular Fortnite streamers, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has amassed a huge following on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. His popularity has led to a number of high-profile sponsorships, including a recent deal with Red Bull.
In addition to his sponsorship deals, Ninja also makes money through advertisements that play during his live streams. He is said to make about $500,000 per month from these ads, on top of the money he makes from sponsorships and other income sources.
With an estimated net worth of $5 million, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is one of the richest professional gamers in the world.
Jian Zhang “Uzi”
Jian Zhang, better known by his in-game name “Uzi”, is a Chinese League of Legends player who most recently played ADC for Royal Never Give Up. He is widely considered one of the best ADCs in history, and has been consistently praised throughout his career for his laning phase, mechanics, and game sense. Uzi started playing professional League of Legends in 2012 and quickly rose to prominence as a member of the world-renowned Star Horn Royal Club. He would go on to win multiple domestic titles with SHRC before joining RNG in 2015.
During his time on RNG, Uzi helped the team to win multiple international tournaments, including the Mid-Season Invitational in 2018 and the League of Legends World Championship in 2019. He was also awarded the title of MVP at both events. Uzi retired from professional play in 2020 due to health concerns, but remains an active member of the League of Legends community through his stream and social media presence.
Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg
Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg (born March 14, 1996) is a Danish professional League of Legends player who is the mid laner for Team SoloMid of the North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS). He was previously on SK Gaming, as well as Evil Geniuses and Copenhagen Wolves. On November 21, 2013, it was announced that Bjergsen would join TSM, after it was revealed he had acquired a P1-A visa.
In May 2019, Forbes estimated that Bjergsen’s net worth was $4 million.
