Esports has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. A lot of new teams were formed, many tournaments with great prize money were held.
If you still don’t know much about the gaming industry, you might be surprised to learn how esports has evolved. It is very competitive and has many tournaments with huge prize money taking place around the world. And unlike traditional sports, a lot of players can live off of the money they make in esports.
A lot of esports players are popular among the younger generation. For them, esports is a true sport, like football or basketball.
More importantly, esports is more than just a hobby, the industry has been wildly successful. Esports is present on mass media channels, not just Twitch or YouTube platforms.
So where are the big names of esports? How much money do they make and which games are the most popular?
This may come as a surprise to many, but while Fortnite was the biggest name in gaming in 2018, it didn’t make it into the top prize pools. At the top is Dota 2, which is the game with the biggest prize money. Dota 2 is a MOBA game, taking place between two teams of 5 people (total of 10 people). Both sides try to destroy each other’s turrets while defending their own stronghold. Each player controls an independent character, the “hero”, whose skills and gameplay are completely unique.
The esports salaries of teams and players vary widely. In addition to the hard salary from the organization, players also receive from bonuses and sponsors.
Here are the top 10 esports teams with the highest income and salary as of December 2018 (in USD):
first. Team Liquid (Liquid)
Total Bonus Earned: $24,448,847
Total number of tournaments attended: 1430
Top Games:
- Dota 2 -$17,336,099
- Counter-Strike – $1,772,175
- StarCraft – $1,361,490.23
The players with the highest income:
- Kuro Takhasomi (KuroKy) – $3,449,672
- Ivan Ivanov (MinD_ContRoL) – $3,433,172)
- Lasse Urpalainen (Matumbaman) – $3,428,672
Team Liquid was originally a gaming community website. They sponsored a team of Starcraft: Brood War Netherlands in 2010. Over time, the organization changed the titles it participated in. Team Liquid began signing the first professional players in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in 2010. The organization recruited Dota 2 players in 2012.
In 2015, Team Liquid merged with Team Curse, bringing in the players and management of Team Curse.
Team Liquid became part of sports entertainment and management company, aXiomatic, in 2016. Walt Disney selected Team Liquid to participate in the ‘Disney Accelerator’ program in 2017.
Team Liquid won many tournaments in many disciplines. But the biggest success was the championship of The International 2017 (TI7), which brought them $10,862,683.
2. Evil Geniuses (EG)
Total Bonus Earned: $20,751,172
Total number of tournaments attended: 737
Top Games:
- Dota 2 – $17,870,742
- StarCraft / StarCraft 2 – $798,548
- Call of Duty – $781,050
The players with the highest income:
- Sumail Hassan (SumaiL) – $3,265,914
- Saahil Arora (UNiVeRsE) – $2,919,231
- Peter Dager (ppd) – $2,599.54
Evil Geniuses, abbreviated EG, is a popular North American esports organization, headquartered in San Francisco. Alexander Garfield founded the organization as a Canadian Counter-Strike team in 1999.
The organization’s most successful player, Sumail Hassan, started five successful months in Dota in Pakistan. Sumail’s father got a job in the US, and Sumail joined Evil Geniuses in January 2015. The team won the 2015 Dota Asia Championships a month later and won The International 2015 (first place $6,634,661).
Evil Geniuses is a subsidiary of GoodGame Agency, which owns Amazon’s Twitch business.
3. Team OG (OG)
Total Bonus Earned: $17,563,028
Total number of tournaments attended: 50
Top Games:
- Dota 2 – $17,562,067
- Super Smash Bros – $960
The players with the highest income:
- Johan SundsteinX (N0tail) – $3,507,429
- Jesse Vainikka (JerAx) – $2,905,424
- Anathan Pham (ana) – $2,825.74
Team OG is based in Europe and started as Monkey Business, then rebranded in October 2015. This is an organization that is almost exclusively Dota 2. OG made their breakthrough at the 2015 Frankfurt Major, beating big names like Evil Geniuses, CDEC Gaming, and Team Secret.
Although this organization has only participated in 50 tournaments, the amount of prize money earned is impressive.
OG also won the 2016 Manila Major, becoming the first Dota 2 team to win two Major tournaments. More specifically, OG became the champion of The International 2018 (TI8), bringing in a total prize money of $11,234,158 – the largest in Dota 2 history ever. Notably, they made the “Cinderella” story at this tournament, a tournament no one thought OG could win.
4. Newbee
Total Bonus Earned: $12,820,195
Total number of tournaments attended: 130
Top Games:
- Dota 2 – $12,438,302
- Dota 2 (Newbee Young) – $112,208
- Hearthstone – $109,076
The players with the highest income:
- Zhi Hu (KaKa) – $1,352,240
- Damien ChokX (kpii) – $1,351,665
- Zhang, Pan (Mu) – $1,319,624
Newbee is a Chinese esports organization. Newbee is involved in a variety of games, but specializes in Dota 2, Hearthstone, and League of Legends.
The team made a name for itself by winning The International 2014 (TI4). That championship brought in a $5 million prize pool, which was recognized by Guinness as the biggest esports prize pool at the time.
5. Fnatic
Total Bonus Earned: $11,908,332
Total number of tournaments attended: 788
Top Games:
- CS:GO – $3,531,627
- Dota 2 – $3,089,323
- League of Legends – $1,816,891
The players with the highest income:
- Robin Ronnquist (flusha) – $687,864
- Jesper Wecksell (JW) – $679,188
- Freddy Johansson (KRiMZ) – $661,480
Fnatic is based in London, but their best players are Swedes. Fnatic has a wide variety of games such as Dota 2, Hearthstone, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike.
Anne Mathews and Sam Mathews (mother and daughter) founded Fnatic in 2004, when they saw the future potential of esports. The two decided to build a roster from good players around the world. Their League of Legends team won their first World Championship in 2011. Fnatic holds the title as the team with the most EU LCS titles.
Many believe that Fnatic’s Counter-Strike team is one of the best CS teams of all time, winning 3 CS:GO Majors.
6. Virtus.pro (VP)
Total Bonus Earned: $11,745,195
Total number of tournaments attended: 438
Top Games:
- Dota 2 – $7,688,777
- CS:GO – $2,871,882
- Counter-Strike – $333,199
The players with the highest income:
- Roman Kushnarev (RAMZES666) – $1,168,604
- Pavel Khvastunov (9pasha) – $1,147,446
- Vladimir Minenko (No[o]ne) – $1,140,246
Virtus.pro is a Russian esports organization, founded in 2003. Since then, VP has won over 100 golds, 170 silvers and 220 bronzes at numerous esports tournaments.
Virtus.pro has many teams in different disciplines. VP currently has more than 50 players in the organization, including the women’s team added in September 2012.
7. Wings Gaming
Total Bonus Earned: $9,718,637
Total number of tournaments attended: 22
Top Games:
- Dota 2 – $9,712,413.00
- CS:GO – $6,224
The players with the highest income:
- Zhang Ruida (Faith_bian) – $1,942,562
- Zhou Yang (bLink) – $1,942,462
- Li Peng (iceice) – $1,942,462
While Wings Gaming ranks 7th in the rankings for prize money, the organization has been defunct for almost two years.
Wings Gaming is a professional Chinese Dota 2 team, founded by a group of Chinese pub superstars in 2013.
The team participated in many tournaments in 2015-2016, proving themselves to be one of the top Chinese teams at that time. Wings Gaming is the champion of The International 2016 (TI6), winning $9.1 million.
However, the success quickly disappeared. Controversy between the management and the players over how the TI6 money should be divided created financial difficulties. Player salaries were not paid, and as a result Wings Gaming members left the organization.
8. Vici Gaming (VG)
Total Bonus Earned:$9,391,057
Total number of tournaments attended: 255
Top Games:
- Dota 2 – $5,700,876
- Dota 2 (VGJ.Storm) – $1,015,432.57
- Dota 2 (VGJ.Thunder) – $851,202
The players with the highest income:
- Lu, Chao (Fenrir) – $1,176,283
- Xu, Linsen (fy) – $1,034,239
- Xie, Junhao (Super) – $894,309
Vici Gaming has been operating since October 2012. The organization selected high ranked players from the Chinese Dota ranking system at that time. At first, Vici Gaming focused on Dota 1, but later expanded to Dota 2. The runner-up team at The International 2014.
In addition, VG also participates in other esports such as League of Legends, StarCraft II, WarCraft III, FIFA, Hearthstone, CS:GO.
9. LGD Gaming
Total Bonus Earned: $8,721,579
Total number of tournaments attended: 122
Top Games:
- Dota 2 (China) – $5,204,365
- Dota 2 (LGD Forever Young) – $2,943,724
- League of Legends – $368,876
The players with the highest income:
- Yao, Zhengzheng (Yao) – $1,176,225
- Liang, Fa Ming (DDC) – $839,884
- Lei, Zengrong (MMY!) – $751,563
LGD Gaming is a Chinese organization sponsored by Guizhou Laogandie Food. The team is headquartered in Hangzhou, China.
The organization’s first Dota team came from For The Dream, sponsored by LGD in 2009. The team finished third at The International 2012.
LGD then created another Dota 2 team, named LGD.int (International). LGD.int disbanded in 2014 and was replaced by LGD CDEC, then changed back to CDEC Gaming.
In April 2018, LGD partnered with major French football team, Paris Saint-Germain to rename the team to PSG.LGD.
10. SK Telecom T1
Total Bonus Earned: $8,572,612
Total number of tournaments attended: 212
Top Games:
- League of Legends (SKT T1) – $5,291,107
- League of Legends (SKT T1 K) – $1,275,132
- StarCraft 2 – $1,165,932
The players with the highest income:
- Lee, Sang Hyeok (Faker) – $1,175,068
- Lee, Jae Wan (Wolf) – $908,949
- Bae, Jun Sik (Bang) – $907,269
SK Telecom T1 (SKT) is a South Korean esports team owned and named after the Korean media company, SK Telecom. SK Telecom founded the team in 2002. The team features players from StarCraft: Brood War, StarCraft II and League of Legends.
SK Telecom T1 has won the League of Legends World Championship three times, in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
According to Influencer Marketing Hub
Source link: Top 10 esports organizations with the highest income and salary
– https://emergenceingames.com/
