Esports has become one of the fastest growing industries in the world and its players are reaping the rewards. With every passing day, more and more money is injected into the economy of esports; richer owners, bigger contracts, more lucrative endorsements.
The 2017 DOTA 2 International rewarded just under $25 million to the participants. Fortnite has committed to handing out $100 million in competitive prizes in its first year. Twitch and the Overwatch League reportedly signed a 2-year streaming deal for $90 million. Any way you look at it, esports is booming and the players and teams involved are sitting pretty.
After all, if you’re good at what you do, you’ll get paid. Professional gaming is no different.
Below is a list of the 25 players who’ve earned the most prize money to date (courtesy of Esports Earnings).
Top 25 Richest Esports Players
Kuro Takhasomi
- Earnings: $3,629,477.75
- Primary Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: KuroKy
Amer Al-Barkawi
- Earnings: $3,202,886.88
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Miracle-
Saahil Arora
- Earnings: $2,996,603.47
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: UNiVeRsE
Ivan Ivanov
- Earnings: $2,969,961.36
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: MinD_ContRol
Lasse Urpalainen
- Earnings: $2,969,665.64
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Matumbaman
Peter Dager
- Earnings: $2,726,785.56
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: ppd
Sumail Hassan
- Earnings: $2,717,239.14
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: SumaiL
Maroun Merhej
- Earnings: $2,588,458.78
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: GH
Clinton Loomis
- Earnings: $2,497,460.84
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Fear
Li Peng
- Earnings: $1,998,972.63
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: iceice
Kurtis Ling
- Earnings: $1,973,778.04
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Aui_2000
Zhang Yiping
- Earnings: $1,966,123.52
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: y`
Zhang Ruida
- Earnings: $1,966,063.10
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Faith_bian
Chu Zeyu
- Earnings: $1,955,963.82
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Shadow
Zhou Yang
- Earnings: $1,955,423.02
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: bLink
Zhang, Ning
- Earnings: $1,824,534.96
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: xiao8
Chen, Zhihao
- Earnings: $1,761,647.03
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Hao
Zeng, Hongda
- Earnings: $1,702,613.81
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Faith
Clement Ivanov
- Earnings: $1,700,161.43
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Puppey
Gustav Magnusson
- Earnings: $1,614,777.28
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: s4
Xie, Junhao
- Earnings: $1,578,298.18
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Super
Johan Sundstein
- Earnings: $1,486,638.96
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: N0tail
Damien Chok
- Earnings: $1,481,728.85
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: kpii
Ludwig Wåhlber
- Earnings: $1,467,681.25
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: Zai
Zhi Hu
- Earnings: $1,456,430.08
- Highest Playing Game: Dota 2
- Player ID: KaKa
Richest Esports Teams
We’ve discussed the highest paid players, but which organizations have pulled in the most prize money collectively? Below is a list of the 7 richest teams in esports, thanks to the Business Insider.
Team Liquid
- Total Prize Money Earned:$18,231,389.11
- Total Tournaments Played: 1,130
- Top Games:
- Dota 2 (Prize Money Earned: $14,258,294.51)
- StarCraft II (Prize Money Earned: $1,268,979.76)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Prize Money Earned: $949,121.68)
Evil Geniuses
- Total Prize Money Earned: $16,670,734.93
- Total Tournaments Played: 685
- Top Games:
- Dota 2 (Prize Money Earned: $14,744,047.05)
- StarCraft II (Prize Money Earned: $796,668.37)
- Halo 2 Anniversary (Prize Money Earned: $167,500.00)
Newbee
- Total Prize Money Earned: $12,141,392.46
- Total Tournaments Played: 114
- Top Games:
- Dota 2 (Prize Money Earned: $11,889,433.26)
- League of Legends (Prize Money Earned: $110,540.60)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Prize Money Earned: $109,076.13)
LGD Gaming
- Total Prize Money Earned: $10,168,561.39
- Total Tournaments Played: 114
- Top Games:
- Dota 2 (Prize Money Earned: $ 9,694,612.05)
- League of Legends (Prize Money Earned: $366,845.65)
- Defense of the Ancients (Prize Money Earned: $58,486.46)
Wings Gaming
- Total Prize Money Earned: $9,718,065.87
- Total Tournaments Played: 22
- Top Games:
- Dota 2 (Prize Money Earned: $9,711,841.00)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Prize Money Earned: $6,224.87)
Fnatic
- Total Prize Money Earned: $9,025,232.47
- Total Tournaments Played: 705
- Top Games:
- Dota 2 (Prize Money Earned: $2,594,074.91)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Prize Money Earned: $2,378,477.22)
- League of Legends (Prize Money Earned: $1,183,442.19)
SK Telecom T1
- Total Prize Money Earned: $8,535,493.94
- Total Tournaments Played: 29
- Top Games:
- League of Legends(Prize Money Earned: $6,598,419.18)
- StarCraft II (Prize Money Earned: $1,148,659.77)
- StarCraft: Brood War (Prize Money Earned: $744,796.54)
Closing
Esports finds those who are great and rewards them handsomely. The players and teams at the top are becoming virtual celebrities. With their high salaries, endorsement deals and worldwide recognition, esports is building a new brand of athletes. Could we see the day where professional gamers make as much as Lebron James or Cristiano Ronaldo? Only time will tell. What we do know is that if you’ve got what it takes to survive in professional gaming, there’s plenty of money to be made.
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