When the first Overwatch League (OWL) season started earlier this year, the league was heralded as a massive success, though some questioned whether the league was too reliant on the existing esports infrastructure. This, coupled with the colossal success of its esports cousin, League of Legends (LoL), and its second installation of the League of Legends World Championship (LoL Worlds), has led to the idea that the OWL will become a major international powerhouse. The question remains, however, how much revenue this will translate to?
As a gamer, I’m a pro at quitting before a game ends. But quitting doesn’t have to be the only option. In this blog post, I’ll reveal to you a secret that pro gamers don’t know: how much money they’re making, and how to get in on the action. After all, I have no doubts that the salary comparison tools available today are top notch, but the world of professional gaming and eSports can have a pretty diverse pay scale.
The best way to accomplish your goals in life is to set goals, and set small ones along the way. Once you have the ability to start small, you can amplify your efforts by starting to aim higher. So, how do you go about doing that? If you’re like most people, you want to know how much money pro gamers make. Read more about most valuable esports teams 2021 and let us know what you think.
It’s an amazing moment to be a gamer right now! Esports is becoming more popular and profitable in the world of competitive sports. This raises the issue of how much professional gamers earn. Professional Esports players are now making enough money to compete with the professionals in conventional sports, thanks to their wages, sponsorships, and prize wins. The Esports sector attracted over 79 million spectators in total for the 2018 World Championship, a figure that is growing with each passing year. What this implies is that when it comes to gaming, investors, sponsors, and businesses are paying attention, resulting in more money being invested into Esports. So, in the realm of professional gaming, which games are the most rewarding? Let’s have a look at the most popular Esports games and the incomes of its top players.
Salaries in the Overwatch League
The Overwatch League is a relatively young league, having debuted in 2018. They’re also one of the few leagues that has made its players’ wages public. According to reports, the Overwatch League pays its players a minimum basic wage of $50,000 per year, but they also get additional perks.
These perks include a half-share of the league’s tournament bonuses, lodging during the gaming season, health insurance, and a retirement savings plan. Players from the London Spitfire, who won the first ever Overwatch championship in 2018, are still the highest earners in this league, despite the fact that they did not win it in the 2019 season.
“Professional Esports players are now making enough money to compete with the professionals in conventional sports, thanks to their wages, sponsorships, and prize wins.”
Despite the fact that the majority of their money came from the 2018 season’s wins, all five original players have parted ways with the London Spitfire due to their poor performance in the 2019 season. The top five are as follows:
The following are the current top earners in Overwatch based on tournament winnings:
- $219,730.97 Gesture After the 2019 season, he left the London Spitfire and joined the Seoul Dynasty.
- $219,730.97 profit After the 2019 season, he left the London Spitfire and joined the Seoul Dynasty.
- ringing of birds: $200,453.84 After the 2019 season, he left the London Spitfire.
- $197,026.19 is a little closer.
- $193,261.08 Bdosin Just before the start of the 2020 season, he left the London Spitfire squad.
Salaries in League of Legends
League of Legends announced in 2019 that the minimum basic player pay will be $75,000 per year. Furthermore, they claimed that their average player pay was about $320,000 per year.
Although the wages of certain higher-ranking and therefore higher-profile players are not publicly disclosed, it is estimated that the top League of Legends players make $500,000 each year.
This does not include profits from tournaments or other sources of revenue. A handful of League of Legends’ best players and their known tournament wins in 2019 are mentioned below:
- Sang-hyeok, Lee “Faker”: $1,228,281 Faker is regarded as the greatest gamer in the world, having won three World Championships and a slew of MSI and regional championships. He has stayed loyal to LoL throughout his victories, giving him the title of highest-paid LoL player of all time.
- Ho-seong Lee “Duke”: $954,620 Duke is the second highest earner in League of Legends history, including profits from his 2016 World Championship victory with SKT as well as his 2018 championship with Invictus Gaming.
- $913,084: Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan Wolf is another part of the SKT squad, and he earned the majority of his money through World Championships while on the team. He’s also a member of SuperMassive Esports, and he’s one of the highest-earning League of Legends players ever.
- Jun-sik Bae “Bang”: $910,451 Bang has worked with SKT as well as 100 Thieves. He’s won two World Championships and a slew of MSI championships, all of which have contributed significantly to his total earnings.
- $810,683.00 Bae “Bengi” Seon-woong Bengi earned a lot of money by winning three World Championships. He’s played for a variety of teams, including SKT and Vici Gaming, and he’s also coached for SKT.
Salaries in CS:GO
While the yearly wages of CS:GO pro players are unknown, speculations circulated by Esports writers indicate that the bottom end of the salary scale is between $48,000 and $72,000 each year.
According to similar reports, the upper end of yearly wages may range between $200,000 and $300,000. With three Major victories at the start of 2020, Danish CS:GO powerhouse Astralis has continued to dominate competitions among CS:GO teams, although Team Liquid from North America isn’t far behind.
Despite this, the top five earners in CS:GO history are all members of the Astralis squad. The highest-ranking earners in CS:GO professional gaming are listed below, based only on recorded tournament earnings:
- $1,744,921.90 Xyp9x
- dupreeh: $1,741,722.74
- $1,706,223.21 in development
- $1,575,884.08 gla1ve
- $1,335,181.97 Magisk
Salaries in Fortnite
With the exception of Dota 2, Fortnite, which was released in 2017 and has grown quickly in popularity since then, provides some of the biggest competitive prize pools available for a single event. While professional Fortnite players’ wages are either not disclosed, the $30 million prize pool for the 2019 Inaugural Fortnite World Cup drew a lot of attention.
This massive sum of money paved the door for a major shift in the top money-makers among Fortnite professional players. The $3 million reward for first place in the World Cup singles competition was particularly surprising.
This victory, which was given to Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf, pushed him to the top of the following list of the greatest earnings in Fortnight tournament history:
- $3,062,966.67 Bugha
- $1,868,800.00 psalm
- $1,790,207.56 Aqua
- $1,513,176.49 Nyhrox
- $1,297,366.67 EpikWhale
Salaries in Dota 2
Dota2 is by and away the most lucrative game in terms of prize pools and earnings in professional gaming. Dota2 teams have the potential to earn a lot of money, with a cumulative prize pool of $220 million throughout the course of tournament history.
With a prize pool of almost $35 million, the International (“TI9”) in 2019 set a new record for a single event in gaming history. It should come as no surprise that players of Dota2 teams make the most money in professional gaming.
All five of these high earners are members of team OG, and their consecutive victories in both International 8 and International 9 were the major contributions to their massive earnings:
- $6,882,440.18 N0tail
- $6,470,000.02 JerAx
- $6,000,411.96 ana
- $5,489,233.01 Ceb
- $5,414,446.17 TopSon
Individual Prize Winnings in Professional Gaming History
The ranking of the top ten prize wins in pro-gaming history is a little skewed due to the huge $34 million prize pool at the Dota2 2019 championship tournament, the International. Unsurprisingly, players of the 2019 International title team, OG, dominate the top ten spots, with a combined team revenue of approximately $15 million.
That being said, there is a lot of money to be earned in the competitive Esports scene, as well as other games. We’ve put together a list of the nine most popular games, as well as the pro players who have won the most money:
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, Dota 2 – $6.8 million
N0tail led team OG to two consecutive International victories, collecting $2.2 million in prize money in 2018 at TI8 and then $3.1 million in 2019 at TI9. When these massive amounts are added to his prior prize money from other events, Notail’s total cash prize winnings come in at just about $7 million, putting him at the top of the list.
Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf (Fortnite) – $3 million
Bugha, 16, stunned the gaming industry in July 2019 when he conquered Fortnite’s World Cup and took home the $3 million top prize in the Solos event. This one victory pushed him to the top of the list of cash prize winners. That is, until Team OG earned their winnings in Dota’s 2019 “TI9” International a month later.
Andreas “Xyp9x” Hjsleth (CS:GO) – $1.7 million
Andreas had already won over $100,000 in prize money before to joining his current squad, Astralis, however Astralis has accounted for almost 90% of his earnings since 2016. In 2015, he earned almost 70% of his prior earnings while playing with Team SoloMid.
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok of League of Legends – $1.3 million
It’s no surprise that Faker has earned the most prize money in League of Legends history, given his status as the greatest League of Legends player in the world. Faker’s biggest individual monetary award was $338,000, which he earned in the 2016 Lol World Championship, making 2016 his best earning year, with a total of $408,000. Faker’s profits have been tapering down for the past two years or so, despite some years with respectable wins in the $200,000 area.
“With the exception of Dota 2, Fortnite, which was released in 2017 and has grown quickly in popularity since then, provides some of the biggest competitive prize pools available for a single event. While professional Fortnite players’ wages are either not disclosed, the $30 million prize pool for the 2019 Inaugural Fortnite World Cup drew a lot of attention.”
Feg – Shadowverse – $1 million
Feg first made a name for himself in 2018 when he won the $1 million prize in the Shadowverse World Grand Prix. This is the largest amount of prize money ever earned by a Japanese player in an Esports competition. Feg is a member of the Yoshimoto Libalent team.
Cho “Maru” Seong Ju – Starcraft 2 – $808,000
Green Wings of Jin Air Maru, a South Korean gamer, is the youngest player in the history of the Global Starcraft II League. He has amassed considerable prize money since winning his first televised game at the age of 13. Winning the $100,000 grand prize at WESG 2016 and the $200,000 grand prize at WESG 2017 are two of the most notable achievements.
Damon “Karma” Barlow, Call of Duty – $804,000
Karma won the bulk of his prize money by winning the Call of Duty Championships in both 2013 and 2014, making him the first Call of Duty pro to ever win back-to-back championships. Following these victories, he joined OpTic Gaming and went on to win his third Call of Duty Championship in 2017.
Lee “Jaedong” Lee “Jaedong” Lee “Jaedong” Lee “Jaedong” Lee “Jaedong” Lee ” $642,000 – Jae-Dong
From the beginning of his career playing Starcraft: Brood War, Jaedong has been successful, winning the “Rookie of the Year” title at the Korean e-Sports Awards in 2006. He won the OnGameNet StarLeague (OSL) championship in 2007, and went on to win it two more times. He was given the “Golden Mouse” for winning three games in a row. In 2012, the game’s sequel was launched, and Jaedong made the move to Starcraft 2. He climbed his way back into the top players after a year of dismal performance, finishing second at the WCS Global Finals in 2013. At the conclusion of the 2016 season, Jaedong announced his retirement.
Tony “Lethul” Campbell (Halo) – $578,000
Most people consider Lethul to be the greatest Halo player ever. It’s difficult to disagree with logic when someone has two Halo World Championships under his belt. His first championship triumph, at $250,000., accounted for almost half of his total prize money. His championship victories account for the bulk of his prize money, with a second place finish in 2017 giving him $100,000 and a second place finish in 2018 earning him $50,000.
Professional Gamers’ Additional Earnings
Only tournament wins, which are the only publicly disclosed parts of a player’s earnings, are included in the above lists. With this in mind, the dollar amount of individual players’ earnings listed does not necessarily include their (often privately negotiated) annual salary or any income derived from sponsorships, live streaming services like Twitch, advertising, or other revenue sources common to high-ranking professional gamers. Let’s take a look at some of professional gamers’ non-prize money earnings:
Salaries
As previously stated, the majority of professional gamers are given an annual wage by their associated club. While player wages are not publicly available, recent comments by Esports executives indicate that the rapidly increasing popularity of Esports in recent years has caused elite players’ pay to skyrocket. Salary ranges from $50,000 to $300,000 per year, according to several sources.
Live Streaming on Twitch
Twitch is a live streaming website where players may broadcast themselves playing games. The player must become a Twitch Partner by maintaining an average audience of 500 or more viewers and live streaming at least three times per week to earn money on Twitch.
Twitch will usually pay the player 50% of their subscribers’ fees after they become a Partner, which may quickly add up to a significant sum of money as your subscriber list increases. Twitch also has a function that enables spectators to tip or contribute to the player in addition to subscription revenue. It’s fairly uncommon for devoted fans to contribute to a great streamer’s cause! Twitch pays out its Partners based on ad income in addition to subscription fees and contributions. For fresher Partners, ad income payouts may vary from $0.70 per 1000 views to $2.50 per 1000 views for more popular and successful Partners. How much money do twitch streamers make?
YouTube
Gamers may utilize YouTube to broadcast their game play, similar to Twitch. YouTube, like Twitch, asks users to join their Partner Program, although their requirements are a little more stringent. To become a YouTube Partner, you must have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers as well as 4,000 hours of view time in the previous 12 months. Following that, a Partner may receive Ad income based on the number of views, which can vary from $0.25 per 1000 views to $10.00 per 1000 views, depending on variables such as the kind of video streaming and the price of the ad that is running on the video.
Affiliate marketing is a kind of marketing in which you
Pro gamers, like Hollywood celebrities and sports, may make a lot of money by promoting or endorsing gaming goods. Typically, they join an affiliate program with a particular retailer, and as long as the resultant sales are monitored, they receive a percentage of the sales generated by the referral. To monitor the transaction, most users would publish a link to the merchandise on their streaming channel or social media account. Anyone who purchases a product after clicking on the link will put money in the endorser’s pocket.
Sponsorships
Popular professional gamers often accept contracts with businesses to be the face of their goods, similar to how celebrities and sports get sponsorships from companies. While affiliate marketing provides commissions based on individual sales, sponsorships are usually a one-time payment that requires the person to use, promote, and support the goods. Companies in the gaming industry strive for sponsorship deals with the most prominent pro players, and even whole gaming teams. These contracts are usually secret and vary in value, but they may put a lot of money in the players’ wallets – not to mention free goods from the business!
Benefits that aren’t monetary
Aside from the money, being a member of a professional team comes with a slew of additional advantages. As previously said, it is very uncommon for leagues to offer free housing, health insurance, and even retirement benefits during gaming seasons.
Do you want to be a professional gamer right now?
Do you believe you’ve got what it takes to become a pro gamer? Are you uncertain of how to get started on your path to competing professionally? You may believe that if you train for an insane number of hours, you’ll be able to break into the professionals. It’s not quite that easy, however. If you believe you have the skill, stamina, and courage to break into professional competitive gaming, here are a few pointers to help you get started.
Don’t try to be “Jack of All Trades.”
Keep in mind that if you want to make it big in the world of pro gaming, you’ll need to concentrate on and master one certain game. Competitive fighting games are now the most popular in Esports, with some of the biggest cash awards and the most successful pro players. You should, however, choose a genre that complements your inherent talents.
Complete your homework
Prepare yourselves! There are numerous tutorials and professional advice available on the internet; locate as many as you can and read as many as you can. It’s also crucial to observe the professionals work as frequently as possible by checking in to contests and lessons. Pro gamers often live stream their game play on YouTube or Twitch, as previously said, so locate a pro in your chosen game and study their tactics and moves.
While you’re doing your study, reach out to the gaming community. Look on message boards and forums to see what other players are having trouble with in terms of the more difficult parts of your game as well as their competitive tactics.
Surround yourself with people who share your values
This job will be tough to do on your own. That is why you must go out there and make friends with other gamers, ideally excellent ones. In gaming, networking is equally as essential as it is in any other profession. You’ll be able to establish valuable professional contacts and learn from more experienced players.
Become a Legend in the Game You’ve Chosen
You would expect “practice” to be on this list, but it needs to be said. When you get the opportunity, practice. To become an expert, and perhaps a pro, a significant amount of time is required. Double the length of time you believe you’ll need to achieve greatness.
Spend some cash on the best equipment available
Because you’ll be spending a lot of time on your computer, you’ll want to be sure it can handle the hours of gaming ahead of you. Invest in some improvements and see the money as an investment in your future.
Begin competing today
Begin by participating in online tournaments and leagues. This is where you’ll begin to establish your gaming identity. Your preparation will be put to the test here, and if you succeed, your victories will be recognized as they accumulate.
Once you’ve amassed a significant number of victories, you may begin entering tournaments to enhance your reputation. This is when your networking skills will come in useful, as you may want to form a team for your game.
Best wishes!
The popularity of Esports continues to rise, and the rest of the globe is taking note. There’s never been a better moment to pursue your dream of working as a professional gamer. While only the best of the best earn the most money in professional gaming, it doesn’t mean you won’t be in the top prize pool soon. Put in the time and effort, and you might be playing in the major leagues and earning a fortune in no time – all while doing what you love!
There are many ways to make money as a pro gamer, but one of the biggest sources is through streaming. These days, Twitch is the dominant streaming platform for esports, but there are other options too. Pro gamers can make money playing Fortnite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, or many other popular games. The amount of money pros make varies, but the average player can make around between $500-$1,500 per month, depending on their popularity. Read more about tsm net worth and let us know what you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Dota 2 pros make?
The average salary for a Dota 2 professional is $250,000.
How much do professional gamers make?
Professional gamers make a lot of money. For example, the top player in Beat Saber, Beat Saber PSVR, makes $8,000 per month.
How much do fnatic LOL players get paid?
Im sorry, but I cannot answer this question.
