eSports

Esports earnings: Top 25 Highest Paid Players in 2020 So Far

Published

4 years ago

June 16, 2020

Reading Time: 4 minutes

> Five teenagers, including a 15-year-old, among the best
> Two chess players make the list
> No League of Legends players in top 25

2020 has hit a lot of industries very hard – but not esports.

The lockdown has brought huge growth in viewers to professional gaming as millions flock to watch the world’s best players in action.

This new level of interest will only help the industry grow, along with the pay packets of the gamers themselves.

But, how much do they earn?

New research by esports bookmakers Unikrn shows just how much the top 25 players have been winning in tournament prize money so far this year.

In 2019, there was a total prize pool of $227m shared between over 25,000 players playing in 5,000 tournaments.

Six months into 2020 and there’s still been $32.5m in prize money – despite the cancellation and postponement of many events.

Of that pot, the highest earning player has taken home $300,000 so far.

Brazilian Paulo Damo Da Rosa, known as PVDDR, won Magic: The Gathering Arena’s, Magic World Championship XXVI in February – pocketing the huge fee in one lump sum.

The five members of Spacestation Gaming’s Rainbow Six Siege team – Bosco, Rampy, Thinkingnade, Fultz and Canadian – also feature in the top 10.

Their victories in this year’s Six Invitational 2020 and Pro League Season 11 have earned them $210,000 each.

With a combined age of 47, teenagers Wolfiez, Furious and JannisZ are in the top 16 for their big Fortnite wins.

The UK’s Wolfiez, 16, has taken home $130,000 so far this year from two tournaments coming second in both FNCS Invitationals: Europe last month.

JannisZ, 15, from Germany, won one of those tournaments, while American 16-year-old Furious secured victory in the FNCS Grand Finals in North America – both earning $120,000+.

Among the top 25, Chess24 stars Hikaru Nakamura and grandmaster Magnus Carlsen have also taken home over $100,000 each in prize money.

STATISTICS

The average age of the top 25 earning players so far in 2020 is 24 years old.

So far this year, the top country for earning prize money is the United States with players making over $6million between 1,870 of them.

However, the best average prize winner per country belongs to Jordan.

Six players earned an average of $33,000 each – made up mostly by Doha 2 players Yapzor and Miracle-, who claimed $175,000 of the total $200,000.

Bear in mind all of these earnings do not include their sponsorships, bonuses or salaries – some of which are rumoured to be around the $500,000 mark.

So there will be players easily taking home close to $1,000,000 a year.

The highest earning esports player of all-time is Danish Dota 2 player Johan Sundstein.

Going by player ID N0tail, the 26-year-old has amassed $6.9m in prize money from 117 tournaments and been a winner at the International 2018 and 2019.

Ryan Jurado, esports analyst with the industry juggernaut Unikrn, said: “As impressive as the prize earnings are in esports, they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

“In reality, thousands of players around the world make additional income by building their brand and fan bases with non-competition activities such as gaming streams, earn income with sponsorship deals and receive a salary to play as part of an organized team.

“Amazon’s Twitch alone has 22,000 partnered streamers, most of whom are playing games and earning cash outside of tournaments. When you add in Microsoft’s Mixr, Google’s YouTube, Facebook, plus non-American platforms like Huya, plus thousands of yearly video game tournaments, the number of players making some form of income by gaming is likely well over 100,000 worldwide. For most, this is a paying hobby rather than a career, but some players do reach multi-millionaire status before they even graduate high school.”

Top 25 Highest Paid Esports Players in 2020 (By Prize Money)

Real name	Player name	Game	Nationality	Age	Prize Money 2020	Tournaments	Prize Money (Overall)
Paulo Damo da Rosa	PVDDR	Magic: The Gathering Arena	Brazil	32	$300,000.00	1	$337,800.00
Troy Jaroslawski	Canadian	Rainbow Six Siege	Canada	23	$210,000.00	2	$317,628.57
Dylan Bosco	Bosco	Rainbow Six Siege	United States	25	$210,000.00	2	$275,750.00
Nathanial Duvall	Rampy	Rainbow Six Siege	United States		$210,000.00	2	$261,060.00
Javier Escamila	Thinkingnade	Rainbow Six Siege	El Salvador	21	$210,000.00	2	$261,030.00
Alec Fultz	Fultz	Rainbow Six Siege	American		$210,000.00	2	$238,966.67
Lee, Byung Ryul	Rogue	Starcraft II	Korea	26	$155,128.20	9	$832,543.20
Marcio Carvalho	Marcio Carvalho	Magic The Gathering Arena	Portugal	34	$150,000.00	1	$214,900.00
Jaden Ashman	Wolfiez	Fortnite	UK	16	$130,000.00	2	$1,300,026.67
Lasse Urpalainen	Matumbaman	Dota 2	Finland	25	$122,413.40	7	$3,684,194.44
Clement Ivanov	Puppey	Dota 2	Estonia	30	$122,413.40	7	$2,783,899.63
Ludwig Wåhlberg	Zai	Dota 2	Sweden	22	$122,413.40	7	$2,443,054.42
Yazied Jaradat	YapzOr	Dota 2	Jordan	25	$122,413.40	7	$1,452,524.07
Michał Jankowski	Nisha	Dota 2	Poland	19	$122,413.40	7	$852,679.11
	Furious	Fortnite	United States	16	$121,500.00	3	$122,400.00
	JannisZ	Fortnite	Germany	15	$120,000.00	1	$131,362.42
Asger Larsen	AcilioN	CS:GO	Denmark	23	$117,688.05	6	$205,471.35
Lucas Andersen	Bubzki	CS:GO	Denmark	21	$113,800.00	5	$186,770.86
Frederik Gyldstrand	acoR	CS:GO	Denmark	22	$113,800.00	5	$183,034.72
Rasmus Beck	sjuush	CS:GO	Denmark	21	$113,800.00	5	$178,613.09
Fredrik Jørgensen	roejJ	CS:GO	Denmark		$113,800.00	5	$167,242.03
Hikaru Nakamura	Hikaru	Chess24	Japan	32	$102,632.19	10	$148,117.61
Sven Magnus Carlsen	DrNykterstein	Chess24	Norway	29	$101,170.48	7	$130,928.92
Seth Manfield	Seth Manfield	Magic: The Gathering Arena	United States	29	$100,000.00	1	$141,900.00
David Wang	Aqua	Fortnite	Austria	18	$98,750.00	4	$1,868,341.23

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Top 10 Highest Earning Countries in 2020 (By Prize Money)

Country	Prize Money	Players	Average per
United States	$6,340,646.89	1870	$3,390.72
China	$2,918,944.04	340	$8,585.13
Brazil	$2,161,506.14	401	$5,390.29
Korea, Republic of	$2,067,293.52	455	$4,543.50
France	$1,516,403.65	419	$3,619.10
Russian Federation	$1,495,117.67	440	$3,397.99
Denmark	$1,472,041.31	173	$8,508.91
Germany	$1,262,670.52	483	$2,614.22
United Kingdom	$1,255,641.62	333	$3,770.70
Canada	$1,170,591.49	308	$3,800.62

Highest Earning Players of All Time (By Prize Money)

Real name	Player name	Game	Nationality	Age	Prize Money Overall	Tournaments
Johan Sundstein	N0tail	Dota 2	Denmark	26	$6,895,040.18	117
Jesse Vainikka	JerAx	Dota 2	Finland	28	$6,470,000.02	65
Anathan Pham	ana	Dota 2	Australia	20	$6,000,411.96	24
Sébastien Debs	Ceb	Dota 2	France	28	$5,501,233.01	54
Topias Taavitsainen	Topson	Dota 2	Finland	22	$5,415,046.17	21
Kuro Takhasomi	KuroKy	Dota 2	Germany	27	$5,177,764.81	110
Amer Al-Barkawi	Miracle-	Dota 2	Jordan	22	$4,743,118.88	57
Ivan Ivanov	MinD_ContRoL	Dota 2	Bulgaria	25	$4,534,193.36	67
Maroun Merhej	GH	Dota 2	Lebanon	24	$4,137,126.44	44
Lasse Urpalainen	Matumbaman	Dota 2	Finland	25	$3,674,181.04	69

**Stats taken from www.esportsearnings.com and do not include salaries, bonuses or sponsorships

eSports

CECC Texas “May Madness” Scores Record Growth Again in its Fourth Year

Published

3 days ago

May 7, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

cecc-texas-“may-madness”-scores-record-growth-again-in-its-fourth-year

Winthrop University, Ball State University, St. Clair College, and Illinois State University Crowned as Commissioner’s Cup Champions at the largest scholastic esports festival globally

McDonald’s of North Texas, State Farm, Apple Music, Red Bull, U.S. Army 5th Brigade, Smoothie King, along with other world-class partners lend valuable support for event

Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG) concluded its fourth Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) today crowning four new champions during the largest scholastic esports festival globally and celebrating another year of record growth. CECC Texas presented by McDonald’s welcomed more than 800 student-athletes representing 84 teams (up from 64 in 2023), including a record-breaking 19 conference champions, at Esports Stadium Arlington on May 2-5, along with thousands of fans. In total, 453 teams from 255 schools participated during the 2023-24 CECC season.

Champions included Winthrop University for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate through Generation Esports, Ball State University for Rocket League, St. Clair College for VALORANT, and Illinois State University for Overwatch 2®

“By elevating scholastic esports, we empower students, schools and conferences while fueling industry growth. This is a testament to the increasing interest from brands, media entities, publishers making this the ultimate destination for the scholastic esports and the gaming community.“ said Michael Schreck, CEO for CSMG. “CECC isn’t just a competition; we’re providing structure, recognition and endless opportunities to shape the future of esports.”

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross joined Schreck on stage during the event along with Arminda and Anthony Grissett, Owner/Operators of McDonald’s of North Texas, to announce CECC will return to Esports Stadium Arlington in 2025, marking it the third straight year Texas will host this event.

CSMG also announced during CECC Texas it has joined forces with Capcom to launch the College Street FighterTM Tour during its 2024-25 academic year with the finalists competing at CECC Texas in 2025 throughout its May Madness event. Wim Stocks will serve as the Commissioner of the College Street Fighter Tour and bring his 20 years of experience in college esports to create a dynamic and engaging format of competitive gaming.

CECC Texas offered something for everyone including the Texas High and Middle School Esports Championships, the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) championship finals across League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, and VALORANT, open tournaments for Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics and HALO Infinite 2v2, the Smoothie King Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Open, through Generation Esports with a prize pool up to $5,000, gaming-themed onsite activations, and various industry panels.

McDonald’s of North Texas returned for the second year in a row as the presenting sponsor with various promotions and giveaways through the McDonald’s App as well as awarding a free custom @McDonalds PC built by @Oasis PC’s.

“McDonald’s of North Texas was thrilled to once again sponsor CECC and to see first-hand the incredible experience this tournament brings to the teams and fans nationwide,” said David Floyd, Owner-Operator with McDonald’s of North Texas. “As local business owners, it’s an honor that our community could serve as the center of the esports world this weekend. We were also delighted to add a delivery service this year, which was a great success. This feature allowed fans to order food and continue in their CECC experience.”

The ESPORTSU Collegiate Awards took center stage throughout the weekend recognizing leaders who are driving the ecosystem forward, including:

Commissioner of the Year – J.J. Myers (NACE)
Community Ambassador – Yugina Yun (Gen.G)
Club of the Year – Indiana University
Club President of the Year – TJ Stephens (University of Georgia)
Club Impact Award – Arizona State University
Rising Star Award – Greyson Harding (Michigan State University)
Coach of the Year – Ethan Stone (Indiana University)
Director of the Year – Chris Bilski (Michigan State University)
Program Impact – Michigan State University
Ally of the Year – Christopher Turner (Southern University)
Program of the Year – St Clair College
CECC School of the Year – Winthrop University

The ESPORTSU Awards Committee Members included Kyler Tandal (ESPORTSU), ToniAnn Convertino (ESPORTSU), Nikita Bair (Syracuse University),Joey Gawrysiak (Syracuse University), Aaron Colaiacomo (Fisher College), Adam Antor (Ferris State), and Chase Neukam (St Cloud State University).

Finally, the Aurora Series, dedicated to supporting all who identify with a marginalized gender, made its debut at CECC Texas with the University of Houston Scarlet defeating the University of North Texas in a thrilling VALORANT match 13-11 on the main stage.

“The power of esports was on full display this weekend as many colleges are continuing to push this as the ‘new sport’ on campuses across the nation,” said Angela Bernhard Thomas, Chief Esports Officer for CSMG. “The students arrived in all their team gear, the fans came out to cheer, and the brands integrated into the competition. We’re excited to continue to shape the future of the ecosystem.”

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate through Generation Esports – Winthrop University

2nd seeded Winthrop University battled back after losing the first game to beat defending champion and 5th seeded Fisher College (Northeast), 3-1. Winthrop never backed down throughout the tournament, especially in the Grand Finals with Carlos “Sonix” Perez on the Fisher squad, who is considered a top 10 player globally in Super Smash. Bharat “Lima” Chintipall, a sophomore majoring in computer science from Dallas, TX, was named MVP for the tournament.

Winthrop advanced to the finals beating the 6th seeded University of Texas-Arlington 2-0, while Fisher College (Northeast) denied its fellow students and number one seeded Fisher College (East) 2-1 in best-of-3 series.

Rocket League – Ball State University

In one of the most epic Grand Finals in Rocket League, the top seeded Ball State University needed overtime in the final game of the best-of-7 series to beat the three seeded Boise State University, 4-3. No team won a game by more than one goal throughout the match. Arlin “Oath” Burns, a graduate student majoring in clinical mental health counseling from Westfield, IN, was named MVP for the tournament.

In the semi-finals in the best-of-7 series, Ball State bounced the 5th seeded University of Akron 4-0, while Boise State knocked out the 7th seeded Fisher College, 4-2.

VALORANT – St. Clair College

The 5th seeded St. Clair College completed the sweep in a best-of-3 series to defeat 3rd seeded Blinn College, 2-0. The Saints from Windsor, Canada, become the first non-U.S. college to win a CECC championship. Tanner “geeza” McGhee, a freshman majoring in business from Camarillo, CA, was named MVP for the tournament.

In the semi-finals in the best-of-3 series, St. Clair edged out the 8th seeded Winthrop University, 2-1, while Blinn College held off the 2nd seeded Fisher College (White), 2-1.

Overwatch 2 – Illinois State University

The 6th seeded Illinois State University captured their second CECC trophy in three years after taking down the 5th seeded Northwood University, 3-0, in a best-of-5 series. The Redbirds captured their first title at CECC Atlanta in 2022. Denis “Lethal” Tari, a sophomore majoring in business administration from Dubai, took home MVP honors for the tournament.

In the semi-finals in the best-of-5 series, Northwood upset the top seed Winthrop University, 3-1, while Illinois State advanced by sweeping the 2nd seeded Fisher College Esports, 3-0.
Semi-Finals (best-of-5)

Brand Partners and Talent Elevate CECC Texas

CECC Texas grew its partners from 2023 with the support of McDonald’s of North Texas, State Farm, U.S. Army 5th Brigade, Smoothie King, CTRL, Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Apple Music. Zipchair Gaming, Dairy MAX, Dallas Cowboys Game Time presented by Lenovo, Cisco, Red Bull, Oasis PC, Cirkul, Grand Canyon University, and U.S. Army ROTC, who activated throughout the event.

The broadcast team featured a stacked group of professional esports hosting, desk analyst, and casting talent. The event was stage hosted by Elyse “Herculyse” Herrera and floor hosted by Mathew “Septilence” Corfee II. The desk analysts included Carlos “Carlos Ivan” Braadt, Miles “KilomilesIRL” Catenza, Logan “Catinator” Brown, Cassandra “Chixxa” Meltsch, and Madison “N3RDYBIRD” Benge. Shoutcasters included Keegan “ClutchKey” Ohta and Jesse “Twinsalty” Brawders for Overwatch 2, Samuel “SamTalkz” DeLoach II and Sierra “ Zhobiii” Fisbee for VALORANT, Oliver “Bass” Bass and Jeffrey “TheDangerTaco” Skalamera for Rocket League, and Phil “EE” Visu and Saeed Hassan “Sai” Shareef for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Creators also streamed their own CECC Texas experiences directly to their audiences on their channels. Well-known Twitch personalities included Hungrybox for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, TenacityTV for Rocket League, QuarterJade for VALORANT, and Flats for Overwatch 2®, creating a new engagement platform to build college esports fandom.

The Road to Texas featured official CECC sanctioned tournaments including the CECC Midwest Online Regional, CECC East Regional presented by the US Army and Army ROTC at Helix eSports in Foxborough, Mass. CECC South Regional, CECC West Regional, the Big Esports Conference live championship event at The Ohio State University and Game Arena featuring fourteen Big 10 schools, the Atlantic Coast Esports Conference online Rocket League championship, the Western Cactus League live championship at Grand Canyon University, the Military Services Academy qualifier, the ESPORTSU n’ I All Womens Qualifier, and the very competitive Last Chance Qualifier.

Champions representing participating conferences that receive automatic bids include the: Atlantic Coast Esports Conference, Big Esports Conference, Big Sky Conference, Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, East Coast Conference, Great Lakes Esports Conference, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletics Conference, Mid-American Conference, Mid-Atlantic Esports Conference, Midwest Esports Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West Conference, National Esports Collegiate Conferences, National Junior College Athletics Association Esports, Peach Belt Conference,,Western Cactus League and Western Esports Conference

Full list of CECC Texas-qualified teams (in order of seeding):

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (through Generation Esports)

Fisher College (East), Winthrop University, Northwood University, University of California-Riverside, Fisher College (Northeast), University of Texas-Arlington, Lubbock Christian University, Manchester College (Indiana), University of Akron, New Jersey City College, Oakland University, Wichita State University, Quinnipiac University, Sacramento State University, University of Houston, University of Miami-Ohio, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, San Jose State University, Marist College, University of North Texas, Southern New Hampshire University, Illinois State University, Arizona State University, and Michigan Tech University.

Rocket League

Ball State University, Boise State University, Indian River State College, Nichols College, University of Akron, Lubbock Christian University, Maryville University, St. Clair College, Davenport College, Fisher College, Syracuse University, Indiana University, University of Arizona, Old Dominion University, University of Air Force, Northern Arizona University, San Jose State University, Staten Island College, Montevallo University, and Saint Xavier University.

Valorant

Blinn College, Simon Fraser College, Northwood University, Fisher College (White), St. Clair College, Fisher College, San Jose State University, Winthrop University, Texas A&M University, Brewton-Parker College, Converse University, Boise State University, Grand Canyon University, Purdue University, Northeastern University, Utica University, Manhattan College, University of North Texas, University of Air Force, and Saint Xavier University.

Overwatch® 2

Wintrhop University, Maryville University, Fisher College, Northwood University, Arizona State University, Illinois State University, University of California-Irvine, Fisher College (Freaks), Converse University, Boise State University, Blinn College, Bryant and Stratton College, University of Miami-Ohio, Southern New Hampshire University, University of Maryland, University of Texas-Arlington, Grand Canyon University, Cleary University, University of Army-West Point, and Salt Lake Community College.

eSports

Axlebolt and Epic Esports Events announce WINLINE EPIC Standoff 2: Brasil #2

Published

3 days ago

May 7, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

axlebolt-and-epic-esports-events-announce-winline-epic-standoff-2:-brasil-#2

Axlebolt mobile game developer, Epic Esports Events tournament operator, RuHub esports broadcasting studio and Winline company announce the second tournament in the series as part of WINLINE EPIC Standoff 2: Brasil. The event takes place from 11 to 19 May. This means audience and pro-players will have new exciting games and unexpected outcomes of matches between teams from South America in the fight for the prize pool of 10 000 USD*

The WINLINE EPIC Standoff 2: Brasil #2 tournament first stage will be held in the open qualifiers format. They will be organized on 11 and 12 May on the Battlefy platform.

Teams from Latin America can register their team using the links:

Qualifiers 1 — battlefy.com
Qualifiers 2 — battlefy.com

The group tournament stage will take place from 14 to 16 May. Four teams that advance to the open qualifiers stage will compete. They are will joined by four teams that received invites at the main stage:

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Further four teams that have passed the group stage will compete in the playoffs in the Double Elimination format to win the large prize pool and get the tournament winner status.

The tournament prize pool distribution:

1 – 5 000 USD*
2 – 2 500 USD*
3 – 1 500 USD*
4 – 1 000 USD*

Tournament broadcasts will start from the main stage and will be available on the official RuHub online resources. Live broadcasts will be available in English and Portuguese language.

*The tournament prize pool is 1 000 000 rubles The announcement video on youtube.

eSports

Revolut unveiled as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final at London’s OVO Arena Wembley

Published

4 days ago

May 7, 2024

George Miller

revolut-unveiled-as-presenting-partner-for-the-blast-premier-spring-final-at-london’s-ovo-arena-wembley

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Esport entertainment company BLAST has revealed the global financial technology company Revolut as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final, ahead of Counter-Strike’s long-awaited return to the United Kingdom in the summer.

The partnership with BLAST is Revolut’s first foray into esports – an industry known for its next-level global entertainment and world-class experiences. It is part of the fintech’s strategy to provide unique experiences to a global audience of tech-savvy gamers.

With more than 40 million customers worldwide in 38 countries, Revolut’s popular online banking platform aims to revolutionise the way people spend, send, save and interact with money.

Revolut comes on board as the Official Finance and Payments Partner of the BLAST Premier Spring Final, which is due to take place at London’s OVO Arena Wembley from 12-16 June. Revolut will feature heavily across the event, with both digital broadcast integration across BLAST.tv, Twitch and YouTube, with dedicated Revolut broadcast segments and physical branding and activations at the arena.

The Spring Final 2024 will be the biggest Counter-Strike event to take place in the United Kingdom since the London Major 2018, which took place in the OVO Arena Wembley and saw Danish organisation Astralis crowned champions.

Fans online will enjoy an economy focussed broadcast segment as well as a bespoke giveaway with fantastic prizes. Revolut will be kicking off the Spring Final action with an opening party on Friday, 14th June. A Revolut booth on-site will allow fans to sign up to exclusive discounts for Revolut customers and exclusive perks including queue skip for meet and greets with professional esports players.

Alexander Lewin, SVP, Commercial Revenue at BLAST said: “We’re thrilled to mark the historic return of CS arena events to the UK with a groundbreaking presenting partnership. Revolut has been at the forefront of digital banking and financial innovation for nearly a decade, and shares BLAST’s dedication to creating fantastic experiences for fans and customers. As presenting partner, Revolut will feature prominently across our entire broadcast and arena experience, and we look forward to incorporating their innovative digital-first approach. This partnership is testament to the value esports can bring to a leading global brand, and we are delighted Revolut has chosen BLAST for their first entry into competitive gaming.”

Deborah Wajsbrot, Head of Growth – Strategic Partnerships & Sponsorships at Revolut, said: “We’re delighted to be able to unveil Revolut’s marketing partnership with BLAST – our first in esports. BLAST is a world-class esports tournament and an iconic event for the gaming community. Just like Revolut, the gaming industry is at the forefront of innovation worldwide. This partnership is the beginning of our efforts to bring unique and unforgettable experiences to Revolut customers and gaming fans – not just at Wembley, but worldwide.”

The BLAST Premier Spring Final gets underway on Wednesday, 12th June, with eight of Counter-Strike’s best teams descending on the UK’s capital to battle for a total prize pool of $425,000. The winning team will qualify for the BLAST Premier World Final later this year.

Participating teams: Astralis, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, SAW, Virtus.pro, Team Spirit and Team Vitality.

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