Friday 25 August 2017

Top 10 Highest Paid Gamer In Esports

Competitive Gaming getting more popular

As mentioned in an earlier post, the payouts in Esports has been growing. The largest tournament prize pool thus far is a whooping $24.6 million USD. Many players have come and gone but some has stayed over the past few years and managed to win some of these tournaments - immediately becoming millionaires. The following is a list of the top 10 highest paid gamer in the world with all of them playing Dota 2 as a professional player. This does not come as a surprise as 9 of the top 10 eSports prize pool tournaments are Dota 2 tournaments.

Let us take a look at the top 10 highest paid gamer in the world:

1. Kuro Takhasomi (KuroKy)
Kuroky first participated in competitive Dota 2 back in 2011 at The International 2011 where he was unsuccessful. Over the years, he has moved from team to team, for instance, he was with Virtus.pro, Mousesports, Natus Vincere, Team Secret and eventually Team Liquid where he would finally lift the championship trophy after attending every International and land his team $10.8 million USD.

Game: Dota 2
Age: 24
Country: Germany
Total Earnings: $3.3 million USD

2. Amer Barqawi (Miracle)
Miracle first joined Balkan Bears in the beginning of 2015, but was removed four months later. He later became a pub star by climbing the matchmaking ranking ladder up to #1 and was subsequently invited by N0tail to form a team which was later known as OG. He then departed OG following the conclusion of The International 2016 and joined Team Liquid, where he would eventually win The International 2017.

Game: Dota 2
Age: 20
Country: Jordan, Poland
Total Earnings: $2.9 million USD

3. Saahil Arora (UNiVeRsE)
UNiVeRsE was part of the Online Kingdom Squad that placed 7th at The International 2011. He would later join Evil Geniuses(EG) and be crowned The International 2015 champions. Although he later went to Team Secret, he quickly made his return to EG. 

Game: Dota 2
Age: 27
Country: United States
Total Earnings: $2.9 million USD

4. Lasse Urpalainen (Matumbaman)
Matumbaman became well known after winning the Assembly Summer 2014 LAN tournament. He would later be recruited by Kuroky and the team was signed by Liquid, where he played under the banner and eventually win The International 2017.

Game: Dota 2
Age: 22
Country: Finland
Total Earnings: $2.7 million USD

5. Ivan Ivanov (MinD_ContRoL) 
MinD_ContRoL began his career in 2014 where his team showed some promising results but was not good enough. The post TI5 shuffle would put him together with Kuroky and later signed by Liquid, moving on to win The International 2017.

Game: Dota 2
Age: 22
Country: Bulgaria
Total Earnings: $2.7 million USD

6. Peter Dager (ppd)
First playing in Heroes of Newerth, PPD would later transition to Dota 2 near the end of 2013. In March 2014, he made his debut with EG and was well recognised at the international level. His team was the favourites to win The International 2014 but fell short of it. He would later win DAC 2015 and The International 2015 and then becoming CEO of EG. He subsequently left the organisation and returned as a player in the competitive scene.

Game: Dota 2
Age: 25
Country: United States
Total Earnings: $2.6 million USD

7. Sumail Hassan (SumaiL)
SumaiL started playing Dota when he was 8 years old. He would later be recognised by UNiVeRsE and was picked up by EG. As EG picked up steam, he would be the youngest player to ever surpass $1 million USD in eSports winnings.

Game: Dota 2
Age: 18
Country: Pakistan
Total Earnings: $2.6 million USD

8. Clinton Loomis (Fear)
Fear was one of the most respected American Dota player who led a team called "PluG Pullers Inc.", who were one of the very first Dota teams to get sponsored. He would later transition to Dota 2 and be with EG since 2011.

Game: Dota 2
Age: 29
Country: United States
Total Earnings: $2.3 million USD

9. Maroun Merhej (GH)
GH was originally part of Wired Gaming. He gained notoriety for reaching over 9000 MMR in the Dota 2 matchmaking leaderboards and subsequently played as a stand-in for Team Liquid in DreamLeague Season 6 where he won the tournament. He then joined Team Liquid full time on January 2nd, 2017.

Game: Dota 2
Age: -
Country: Lebanon
Total Earnings: $2.3 million USD

10. Li Peng (iceice)
iceice was brought into the professional scene by xiao8 as part of team Big God. He would later move to Wings Gaming and win The International 2016.

Game: Dota 2
Age: 22
Country: China
Total Earnings: $1.9 million USD

As it stands right now in 2017, the highest paid gamer is Kuroky at $3.3 million USD. The second highest paid gamer is Miracle at $2.9 million USD. The third highest paid gamer is UNiVeRsE at $2.9 million USD. The forth highest paid gamer is Matumbaman at $2.7 million USD. The fifth highest paid gamer is MinD_ContRoL at $2.7 million USD. The sixth highest paid gamer is ppd at $2.6 million USD. The seventh highest paid gamer is SumaiL at $2.6 million USD. The eighth highest paid gamer is Fear at $2.3 million USD. The ninth highest paid gamer is GH at $2.3 million USD and finally the tenth highest paid gamer is iceice at $1.9 million USD.

It is interesting to note that these 10 highest paid gamers have competed at the highest levels in the professional Dota 2 scene, in particular, The International, and are themselves champions in various editions of the tournament.

Ready to be part of the highest paid gamer list yet? 

Top 10 Esports Prize Pool

KeyArena Esports Dota 2 Seattle
KeyArena Seattle
The payouts in Esports has been crazy and shocking over the past few years. With a constant rise in the prize pool, players have begun to flock over to these games. While the prize pool may not determine the stature of the event, it is a huge incentive for players to participate in these competitive games. And with a larger and larger esports prize pool - with some even contributed by the casual gamers, vast number of playerbase and audience - the hype gets even bigger over the years, and this trend will seemingly continue in years to come. The esports prize pool is now so large that players can choose to retire upon winning a tournament. The following is a list of the top 10 esports prize pool in the world. Here we break down the biggest and highest prize pools in esports as well as the largest prize pools in history.

Let us take a look at the top 10 esports prize pool in the world:

1. The International 2017 - $24.6 million USD
The International 2017 (TI7) was the seventh iteration of Dota 2's flagship annual championship and again it took place at the KeyArena Center in Seattle, Washington.

This was the highest esports prize pool yet. It featured a eSports prize pool of $24.6 million USD.

2. The International 2016 - $20.7 million USD
The International 2016 (TI6) was the sixth iteration of The International, it took place at the KeyArena in Seattle in August. The tournament awarded one of the biggest eSports prize pool in the tournament history at over US$20 million.

3. The International 2015 - $18.4 million USD
The International 2015 (TI5) was the fifth edition of The International, an annual Dota 2 eSports championship tournament, which took place at the KeyArena in Seattle.

4. The International 2014 - $10.9 million USD
The International 2014 (TI4) was the fourth annual edition of The International, an esports Dota 2 championship tournament, which took place at the KeyArena in Seattle.

5. League of Legends 2016 World Championships - $5.07 million USD

The 2016 League of Legends World Championship was the sixth world championship for League of Legends. It was held from September 29 - October 29, 2016, in cities across the United States. The tournament's group stage was held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, the quarterfinals at The Chicago Theater in Chicago, and the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The final was held in front of a crowd of nearly 20,000 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

6. Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015 - $3.05 million USD

The Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015, also known as DAC 2015 and as The Oriental, is a tournament organised by Perfect World and MarsTV. It features one of the highest esports prize pool in 2015, at $3 million USD.

7. The Kiev Major 2017 - $3 million USD
The Kiev Major was a professional Dota 2 eSport tournament that was held in April 2017 at the National Palace of Arts in Kiev, Ukraine. 

8. The Boston Major 2016 - $3 million USD
The Boston Major was a professional Dota 2 eSport tournament that took place in Boston in the United States.

9. The Manila Major 2016 - $3 million USD
The Manila Major, also known as the Spring Major, was a professional Dota 2 eSport tournament that took place in Mainla, Philippines.

10. The Frankfurt Major 2015 - $3 million USD
The Frankfurt Major, also known as the Fall Major, was a Dota 2 tournament which took place from November 13-21, 2015. The tournament took place at the Festhalle Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany.

As it stands right now in 2017, $3 million USD seems to be the lowest in the top 10 esports prize pool. The highest esports prize pool is The International 2017 (TI7) at $24.6 million USD. The second highest esports prize pool is The International 2016 (TI6) at $20.7 million USD. The third highest esports prize pool is The International 2015 (TI5) at $18.4 million USD. The fourth highest esports prize pool is The International 2014 (TI4) at $10.9 million USD. The fifth highest esports prize pool is League of Legends 2016 World Championships at $5.07 million USD. The sixth highest esports prize pool is Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015 at $3.05 million USD. The seventh highest esports prize pool is The Kiev Major 2017 at $3 million USD. The eighth highest esports prize pool is The Boston Major 2016 at $3 million USD. The ninth highest esports prize pool is The Manila Major 2016 at $3 million USD and finally the tenth highest esports prize pool is The Frankfurt Major 2015 at $3 million USD.

It is interesting to note that of these 10 highest esports prize pool, 9 of them are under Dota 2. With such a large esports prize pool, the competitive scene gets tougher and tougher.

Will the next upcoming esports tournament break the highest esports prize pool in history that is currently held by The International 2017 (TI7)? As we venture into the remaining of 2017 and onwards to 2018, we can only speculate that the esports prize pool will soar even higher. Let us wait and find out!