Salaries in esports continue to grow year after year, and it is already common to talk about hundreds of thousands of dollars in the case of the best players in the world. However, the complex structure of the competitive ecosystem of esports makes it dependent on many factors, especially the level of the league but also the game.
In the same way that in football, a second division player is not paid the same as a Real Madrid or Barça player, in electronic sports, the salary varies substantially if we are talking about an international competition or a domestic league. In that sense, Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez assures that in the Spanish leagues, the salaries can be around $22,000 annual. In contrast, in the case of a player of the first international level, the figure can surpass the half-million dollars without too much problem.
Ocelote is a world-renowned figure in electronic sports, being the founder of G2 Esports, one of the leading international organizations with teams in the main titles. The former Spanish player points out that salaries depend a lot on which esport we are talking about, being the salaries in League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Dota 2, titles in which the figures of more than half a million are reached, much higher than others such as Vainglory, where the salary of first-level international players would only be around $33,000.
With the rapid growth of the sector, salaries are also increasing year by year. Ocelote points to the case of Rocket League, a game that combines remote-controlled cars and football, which is becoming popular by leaps and bounds – last June, it climbed seven positions in the ranking of the most followed – with its consequent wage increase.
The good thing about the wage bubble is that it also increases the valuations of companies and investments…when everything is expensive, nothing is expensive.
Ocelote – Founder of G2 Esports
Minimum and Maximum Wage
The setting of a minimum wage is something that is beginning to be seen in some of the most ambitious proposals of recent times in the sector. In recent months it has been the case of the Overwatch League (OWL) and the renewed American League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), which will introduce a system of franchises – something familiar in the United States – to provide clubs with more excellent stability and encourage their growth. Both competitions have established very similar minimum wages, being $50,000 dollars per year in the case of OWL and $75,000 in the case of LCS.
But there is also the opposite case in Spain, where the Liga de Videojuegos Profesional (LVP) decided to set a maximum wage to control the wage bubble. In this last season, which started at the beginning of the year and ended last June, the figure of this maximum wage was 1,500 euros per month.
Wage Supplements
In electronic sports it is not usual to transcend the amounts charged by the players, although sometimes it can be filtered as in the case of the last renewal of the famous Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, considered the best player in the world in League of Legends, whose current salary could be around two and a half million dollars a year, an absolute record in the sector. Some think that’s crazy that a video game player makes so much, but there’s where people don’t really understand the industry. If you’re that person you might want to read What is Esports?
In any case, the particularities of electronic sports make it possible for players to obtain substantial salary complements derived from their activity through streaming platforms, where they broadcast their games and interact directly with the fans, being able to obtain donations directly from them. Besides, their sponsors pay them to display their brand, and they also receive money for the platform’s advertisements depending on the number of spectators and the hours of broadcasting.
Not all electronic sports provide the same facilities for players to stream, so the winnings also differ in this case. While Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or League of Legends time is more limited by having to train with the rest of the team, video games like Hearthstone that are played individually allow their professionals to train in their broadcasts, boosting their income derived from these, which also compensates for lower starting salaries.
In addition to all this, there are other concepts such as accommodation, as the club itself usually offers it through the gaming house, a concept that combines the office with the residence to keep players concentrated during the months of competition. Similarly, although it is a derisory amount in comparison, the players also receive the peripherals with which they must play their games, usually from the sponsors of the clubs.
Highest Paid Tournament Winnings in Esports
If you still think esports is just a child’s play industry, you’re completely wrong. Tournament winnings alone have made professional players into millionaires and the ability to live a lifestyle similar to celebrities you’re used too. The esports industry is very much a serious industry in terms of money, business and talent— similar to traditional sports like football, baseball or even golf. They all have their own respective skills and talents involved but make no mistake, esports does too! Take a look below at the highest paid out tournament winnings based on player for the top esport titles in the industry from Esports Earnings. It’s crazy!
Dota 2
| Player ID | Player Name | Total Prize Winnings |
| N0tail | Johan Sundstein | $6,882,440.18 |
| JerAx | Jesse Vainikka | $6,470,000.02 |
| ana | Anathan Pham | $6,000,411.96 |
| ceb | Sébastien Debs | $5,489,233.01 |
| Topson | Topias Taavitsainen | $5,414,446.17 |
Counter Strike: Global Offensive
| Player ID | Player Name | Total Prize Winnings |
| Xyp9x | Andreas Højsleth | $1,596,921.90 |
| dupreeh | Peter Rasmussen | $1,593,722.74 |
| dev1ce | Nicolai Reedtz | $1,558,223.21 |
| gla1ve | Lukas Rossander | $1,427,884.08 |
| Magisk | Emil Reif | $1,187,181.97 |
Fornite
| Player ID | Player Name | Total Prize Winnings |
| Bugha | Kyle Giersdorf | $3,062,966.67 |
| psalm | Harrison Chang | $1,868,800.00 |
| Aquav2 | David Wang | $1,790,207.56 |
| Nyhrox | Emil Bergquist Pedersen | $1,513,176.49 |
| EpikWhale | Shane Cotton | $1,297,366.67 |
League of Legends
| Player ID | Player Name | Total Prize Winnings |
| Faker | Lee, Sang Hyeok | $1,228,281.90 |
| Duke | Lee, Ho Seong | $954,620.62 |
| Wolf | Lee, Jae Wan | $913,084.70 |
| Bang | Bae, Jun Sik | $910,451.46 |
| Bengi | Bae, Seong Ung | $810,683.00 |
Starcraft II
| Player ID | Player Name | Total Prize Winnings |
| Maru | Cho, Sung Choo | $808,551.50 |
| Serral | Joona Sotala | $785,661.41 |
| Dark | Park, Ryung Woo | $753,039.89 |
| INnoVation | Lee, Shin Hyung | $688,420.32 |
| Rogue | Lee, Byung Ryul | $676,965.00 |
