eSports
Esports earnings: Top 25 Highest Paid Players in 2020 So Far
> 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.”
| 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 |
| 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
1 November 2024 – Esports has experienced explosive growth in Q3 2024, doubling turnover compared to the previous quarter. The average bet on cybersports increased by 17.6% quarter-on-quarter. SOFTSWISS, a global tech expert with over 15 years of experience providing innovative iGaming solutions, shares the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook Q3 2024 report.
The top five sports by Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) remain consistent: Football, Tennis, Basketball, Table Tennis, and eFootball. For the second consecutive quarter, eFootball has outperformed Counter-Strike 2, indicating a shifting interest within the esports sector. Nevertheless, football continues to dominate, contributing nearly half of the total GGR.
The average live bet grew by 10% quarter-on-quarter, a positive development for operators as live bets hold 78.6% of turnover. The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook team is actively enhancing the live betting experience, aiming to capitalise on this trend and provide operators with even greater revenue opportunities.
The average bet grew by 9.7% quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2024, and the number of bets increased by 18.7%. GGR saw a modest growth of 1.5% quarter-on-quarter.
Despite the large number of projects launched for the UEFA Euro 2024, month-on-month statistics show that with the right promotional strategies, projects continue to operate successfully even after such massive events.
Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, adds: “Aligning a launch with a major sporting event can be a successful strategy, but football is not the only sport that can be leveraged in this way. The growth of cybersports presents new opportunities; for specialised projects targeting specific audiences, esports events can also serve as an effective starting point.
We continuously focus on product growth and development, enhancing features and user experience to drive further engagement and profitability for our partners.”
The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook is expanding its global presence. The product team is on track to secure certification in Brazil, conducted by an authorised testing laboratory. Furthermore, for the South African market, the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook has recently integrated a Horse Racing Module. This addition offers operators new business opportunities by covering over 2,400 international and local races monthly. The solution engages players with race cards, silks, and multiple bet types while providing operators unique skins and configurations to align with various brand identities.
The SOFTSWISS team is working on The iGaming Trends Report 2025, which offers a deep dive into key industry developments based on over 50,000 media headlines and insights from industry experts. Covering areas like regulation, marketing, technology, and business growth, this report provides a data-driven perspective on the trends shaping the upcoming year. The SOFTSWISS team shares the possibility of joining the waiting list.
All SOFTSWISS products will be showcased at the final major industry event, SiGMA Europe, at stand 2145.
The post SOFTSWISS Sportsbook Doubles Esports Turnover in Q3 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
CS2 Intel Extreme
CS2 Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 SuperComputer: NaVi to bounce back after Blast Fall Final loss
Final: Natus Vincere (36.5%) to beat Team Vitality (28.1%)
Semifinal 1: Natus Vincere (52.6%) to beat MOUZ (16.3%)
Semifinal 2: Team Vitality (47.7%) to beat G2 Esports (18.7%)
Quarterfinal 1: G2 Esports (39.8%) to beat FaZe Clan (32.8%)
Quarterfinal 2: MOUZ (35.9%) to beat Eternal Fire (24.7%)
Group stage:
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Natus Vincere – 48.7% to finish 1st; 17.0% to finish 2nd; 84.1% to make playoffs
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Team Vitality – 40.8% to finish 1st; 17.4% to finish 2nd; 77.7% to make playoffs
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G2 Esports – 19.3% to finish 1st; 20.4% to finish 2nd; 56.7% to make playoffs
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MOUZ – 14.5% to finish 1st; 21.8% to finish 2nd; 53.0% to make playoffs
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FaZe Clan – 13.9% to finish 1st; 21.0% to finish 2nd; 50.2% to make playoffs
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Eternal Flame – 40.7% to finish 1st; 16.2% to finish 2nd; 40.7% to make playoffs
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Liquid – 16.3% to finish 7-8th; 35.7% to make playoffs
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Virtus.pro – 15.4% to finish 7-8th; 29.9% to make playoffs
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Astralis – 28.9% to finish 9-12th; 31.5% to make playoffs
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The MongolZ – 32.7% to finish 9-12th; 25.4% to make playoffs
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Complexity – 34.3% to finish 9-12th; 21.2% to make playoffs
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Heroic – 26.8% to finish 9-12th; 23.5% to make playoffs
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paiN – 36.5% to finish 13-16th; 21.0% to make playoffs
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FURIA – 36.4% to finish 13-16th; 20.9% to make playoffs
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9z – 44.7% to finish 13-16th; 14.6% to make playoffs
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Imperial – 49.1% to finish 13-16th; 13.9% to make playoffs
It has been quite the run for NaVi despite their loss with back to back grand finals in recent weeks but CSDB.gg’s predictive model suggests there will be no let up for the Ukrainian esports organisation.
G2 will also be looking to build more momentum in preparation for Majors season with NiKo on a quest to finally get over the line this year to win his first major title. Hopefully Rio won’t have to see a repeat of his reaction in the semifinals at BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 where he punched a hole in a table after losing out to Team Vitality in a key moment.
However, the hosts of Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 may want to lockdown any nearby furniture and reinforce their desks if G2 are set for disappointment at the semifinals stage as predicted by the CSDB.gg SuperComputer.
A victory in Rio could be even more consequential for how the end of the year shapes up for the leading teams on the circuit. The Valve Global rankings have both teams close at the very top (NaVi at 1988 and G2 at 1953) meaning a win for either team could hand them a key advantage when it comes to who enters the Majors as top seed.
Back-to-back wins in T1 events for G2, should they prosper in Rio, would set the Berlin-based team on an incredible trajectory going into the winter months.
Meanwhile, Brazilian hopes for glory look slight according to the CSDB.gg SuperComputer with FURIA, the team co-owned by Neymar, having only been given a 20.9% chance of even making the playoffs.
They are the leading contenders to make an impact for the home crowd but there are other teams flying the flag for Brazil with paiN and Imperial also set to give it their best to give local fans something to cheer on.
In terms of forecasted matchups of note, G2 and FaZe Clan could offer up a fascinating encounter in the quarterfinals should both teams qualify, with each organisation rated as having a strong chance of making the semis with little to separate them should they meet.
How was the CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer created?
The CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer is a predictive model created using world ranking points, team quality ratings and performance trends. An element of randomness is also included in the model to avoid the best teams and players always winning, to reflect the fact that upsets can happen.
Every tournament is simulated 1,000 times with the results aggregated into a percentage rating of the chances teams or players have to achieve the predicted result.
Oddin.gg is proud to announce that it has secured a full 3-year sports betting license in Ohio, further strengthening its standing as the esports betting solutions provider with the most licenses in North America. With this latest addition, Oddin.gg now holds four US licenses—New Jersey, Colorado, West Virginia, and Ohio—and a total of five across North America, including Ontario, Canada.
The Ohio license is a strategic milestone, as the state is set to become one of the most active betting markets in the American Midwest. According to projections from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, the state’s sports gaming market is expected to reach approximately $3.35 billion annually as it matures. By securing this license, Oddin.gg is well-positioned to support operators in tapping into this significant potential.
Obtaining the Ohio license also demonstrates Oddin.gg’s ability to meet the state’s comprehensive regulatory standards, which include arduous assessments of financial stability, operational integrity, and adherence to state laws. This achievement reinforces Oddin.gg’s reputation for compliance and reliability, enhancing its capability to deliver full-service esports betting solutions tailored to a growing market.
Ohio’s sports betting legislation imposes a 10% tax on sports gaming receipts, contributing to public education and initiatives supporting veterans in the state. Oddin.gg’s entry into this regulated environment reinforces its role as a leader in shaping the future of esports betting in the US while offering operators a pathway to engage with a new generation of bettors in a secure and exciting way.
Vlastimil Venclík, CEO of Oddin.gg, shared his enthusiasm about the news: “Securing a license from the Ohio Casino Control Commission is a significant step in our North American journey. Ohio is poised to become one of the most dynamic betting markets in the US, and gaining this
approval aer meeting the state’s rigorous standards is a true reflection of our commitment to integrity and excellence both in Ohio and beyond. However, this license isn’t just about expanding our reach; it’s about ensuring our partners have access to market-leading esports betting solutions that fully align with all local regulatory requirements.”
He continued, “Ohio’s market is gearing up to be something special, and we’re excited to help operators tap into that potential. As esports betting continues to evolve, Oddin.gg is ready to provide the expertise, technology, and support to make sure our partners succeed.
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