The world of eSports has exploded over the past couple of years, and highest paid gamers are earning more than ever before. The days of meager salaries are long gone and today’s elite gamers have multi-million-dollar fortunes, however incredible that sounds.
Take Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf’s $3 million Fortnite World Cup win, for example, or Dota 2’s The International 10 and its $40 million prize pool – these figures are extraordinary and certainly much more than gamers could have dreamed about when competitive gaming first became a thing.
Highest Paid Gamers – How Much Do Esports Players Make?
This is a tricky question to ask because there’s no simple answer. How much an eSport player earns depends heavily on the game, player skill, and region they’re playing in. In high-profile titles like Dota 2, the average pro earns as much as $35,000 per month. The League of Legends LCS boasts average player salaries of $410,000 annually.
However, lower-tier professionals and those in less lucrative esports may earn just a few thousand dollars a year.
Let’s take a look at the top five highest-paid esports players of all time and their total earnings:
- Johan “N0tail” Sundstein – $7,184,163
- Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka – $6,486,623
- Anathan “ana” Pham – $6,024,411
- Sebastien “Ceb” Debs – $5,887,342
- Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen – $5,722,674
Of course, these players have paid their dues and spent their time at countless tournaments breaking a sweat and hoping they’ll walk away with the top prize.
Most importantly, every Dota 2 professional knows the struggle and what he gives in order to lift the trophy. These highest paid gamers are all earners, not by luck, but by skill.
Top Earners of 2024
While we still can’t say with certainty who the highest paid gamers will be in 2024, it’s safe to assume those who held this title in 2023 will continue to do well for themselves.
So, let’s take a look at the highest-paid gamers of the previous year, knowing they’ll probably hold the same title in 2024:
- Ilya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk – $1,408,872
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov – $1,408,872
- Denis “Larl” Sigitov – $1,408,872
- Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov -$1,408,872
- Miroslaw “Mira” Kolpakov – $1,408,872
It’s important to note that all of these players have competed on Team Spirit together and won these amazing prizes by playing Dota 2, which is why their earnings are the same.
How to Earn From Esports
While tournaments do bring in the big bucks, the highest paid gamers are enjoying them. Esports players also make their money from team salaries, sponsorships, and streaming. And if you’re trying to find a way to make money off your gaming skills, streaming would be your best bet.
Players can build huge audiences on platforms like Twitch, earning money from donations, subscriptions, and advertising revenue. In fact, the net worth of the most popular Twitch streamer, Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, is a whopping $40,000,000
Becoming one of the highest paid gamers of 2024 is not an easy feat. But remember that all of these millionaires were once in the same boat you are now, and if you start tomorrow, you can go from streaming to playing in high-paying tournaments before you know it.
