Highest paid esports players – who are the richest esports players in each discipline?

The esports industry has transformed from niche competitions to global spectacles generating staggering prize pools. Our analysis reveals that Dota 2 competitors overwhelmingly lead the financial rankings when measuring career tournament earnings across all major gaming titles.

We’ve compiled comprehensive data on the most financially successful professional gamers in each major discipline, focusing exclusively on prize money won through official tournament participation.

Valve’s flagship MOBA stands unchallenged as the most lucrative esports title in history. The game achieved its financial peak during The International 2021, which featured an unprecedented $40 million prize pool that shattered previous records.

According to Esports Earnings data, an astonishing 69 out of the top 100 highest-earning esports professionals compete in Dota 2, demonstrating the game’s extraordinary financial dominance.

The wealthiest Dota 2 professional is two-time The International champion Johan ‘N0tail’ Sundstein. The Danish player accumulated $7.1 million throughout his competitive journey, with his most substantial single payout coming from The International 2019 victory, where he secured approximately $3,124,036.

Epic Games’ cultural phenomenon Fortnite ranks as the second-most profitable competitive gaming discipline, with cumulative prizes exceeding $364.3 million distributed across its competitive history.

The battle royale titan has hosted 2,301 official tournaments with total prize pools reaching $191.5 million, creating numerous professional gaming millionaires.

Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf leads Fortnite earnings with over $3.7 million accumulated across his championship career.

The American phenom captured four elite Tier-S championship titles during his competitive tenure, establishing himself as the game’s most financially successful competitor.

Examining Valve’s tactical shooter franchise reveals dramatically different financial dynamics compared to Dota 2. While individual prize amounts typically don’t reach Dota 2’s astronomical levels, Counter-Strike features more diverse revenue streams beyond tournament winnings.

In the modern CS:GO era, Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen stands as the highest earner. The Danish professional was instrumental in Astralis’ legendary dominance, capturing four Major championships and accumulating approximately $2.1 million in career prize earnings.

During esports’ formative years in pre-Source and CS:GO competitions, Swedish legend Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg earned the most prize money at $191,400. The legendary NAVI squad that dominated 2010 also produced notable earners, with Ioann ‘Edward’ Sukharev leading that roster at $105,500.

The Counter-Strike 2 era, launched in early fall 2023, has already distributed over $24.9 million in tournament prizes. Currently, four NAVI team members (Aleksib, B1t, iM, jL) lead CS2 earnings with $346,500 collectively won.

Remarkably, only six Counter-Strike professionals have surpassed the earnings of Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris, who competed across multiple Call of Duty title iterations. The American standout participated in 69 tournaments throughout his career, accumulating $1,875,655 in total prize winnings.

Pharris achieved his peak financial success during the Black Ops Cold War competitive season, where he earned $483,700 across various championship events.

Riot Games’ flagship MOBA represents one of esports’ most established competitive ecosystems. Throughout its extensive competitive history, organizers have hosted 3,008 official tournaments distributing nearly $116 million in total prize money.

As anticipated, legendary mid-laner Lee ‘Faker’ Sang Hyeok leads League of Legends earnings. The five-time World Championship winner has collected $1.8 million in career tournament winnings.

The financial gap between Faker and his closest competitor is particularly striking, with Lee ‘Duke’ Ho Sung earning $954,800, demonstrating Faker’s exceptional dominance in both skill and earnings.

Riot’s tactical shooter has quickly established itself as a major financial force in competitive gaming. Despite its relatively recent introduction to the esports landscape, VALORANT tournaments have already distributed $32.5 million in prize money across its competitive circuits.

Corbin ‘C0M’ Lee currently ranks as VALORANT’s highest-earning competitor. The American professional has competed at the Tier 1 level for two years, achieving remarkable success including the VALORANT Champions 2023 title and deep runs in VALORANT Champions 2024, VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo and VCT 2023: Americas League competitions.

Throughout his competitive VALORANT career, Lee has accumulated $329,613 in total prize earnings, with $200,000 coming from his championship victory in 2023.

Tencent’s mobile gaming phenomenon ranks as the fifth-highest earning esports discipline globally, with total prize pools reaching $109.4 million across international competitions.

The international version, marketed as Arena of Valor, has created significant financial opportunities for professional mobile gamers worldwide.

Luo ‘HuaHai’ Siyuan leads Honor of Kings earnings with $1.9 million accumulated throughout his competitive career.

The Chinese competitor earned the majority of his prize money by winning the Honor of Kings International Championship 2022, where the total prize pool reached $3.5 million and HuaHai secured $500,000 for his championship performance.

Park ‘Loki’ Jung Young stands as PUBG’s highest-earning professional competitor. The South Korean player has maintained presence in the professional scene since 2018, capturing two Global Championship titles and three Nations Cup victories throughout his career.

Jung Young achieved his peak financial success by winning the PUBG Global Championship 2019, which delivered $505,000 in individual prize money.

The seasoned professional has accumulated $1.2 million in total career tournament earnings across his competitive PUBG journey.

The competitive landscape extends beyond these major titles, with several other games producing significant financial winners:

• StarCraft II: Joona ‘Serral’ Sotala — $1.6 million.
• Rocket League: Evan ‘M0nkey M00n’ Rogez — $895,100.
• Apex Legends: Philip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen — $826,300
• Rainbow Six Siege: Stephane ‘Shaiiko’ Lebleu — $761,300.
• WarCraft III: Jang ‘Moon’ Jae Ho — $565,000.
• Overwatch: Kwon ‘Striker’ Nam Joo — $499,800.
• Counter-Strike: Source: Sam ‘RattlesnK’ Gawn — $76,900.

The richest player in PUBG Mobile is Chinese competitor Zhu ‘paraboy’ Bocheng, who has accumulated $1,393,954 throughout his competitive mobile gaming career. He narrowly outpaces Zeng ‘Order’ Jiehai, who earned $1,321,100 during his professional tenure.

The mobile version has hosted 341 tournaments compared to 638 events for the PC edition. Interestingly, while the PC version distributed $64.9 million in prizes, the mobile competitive scene generated $87.3 million in championship winnings.

These figures represent player shares only, as Esports Earnings divides tournament winnings exclusively among competing roster members.

Prize distribution arrangements vary significantly between organizations, with teams typically claiming portions of winnings and coaches receiving compensation percentages as well.

Readers should understand that these statistics provide approximate financial pictures rather than exact figures, though the overall ranking landscape remains accurate.

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