As a child, like many others, I had a dream to play video games my whole life and do nothing else. Unfortunately, this dream didn’t come true for me – but it did for some. Playing video games has become a profession, allowing gamers to earn millions of dollars yearly. These gamers are known as eSports players now.
Are you curious to know the 10 highest paid eSports players? Take a look at the list below!
10. Li “iceice” Peng – $1,998,858.23
China’s highest-paid eSports player has earned almost $2 million during his gaming career. He has participated in 22 tournaments and is currently ranked at #10 in the world. He is still an active Dota 2 player and has earned almost all of his wealth through this epic strategy game. Iceice’s best year was in 2016 when his team, Wings Gaming, won The International 2016. Each player bagged $1,827,800 as the winning prize.
9. Clinton “Fear” Loomis – $2,418,055.64
Fear is an American Dota 2 player, who has been part of Evil Geniuses for the past few years. One of the oldest eSports players in the world, he has gained a name for being among the best gamers of America, participating in 62 tournaments. He is an ex-DotA: Allstars player who switched to Dota 2, eventually winning several major tournaments with his team. Evil Geniuses secured the top spot in The International 2015 and the Dota Asian Championship 2015.
8. Maroun “GH” Merhej – $2,440,253.78
GH is a Dota 2 player from Lebanon who joined Team Liquid on January 2nd, 2017. This transfer was the breakthrough GH was looking for. Within 8 months of his joining, the team won the best prize in the business, The International 2017. For winning this tournament, he received a share of $2,172,536.60.
7. Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan – $2,637,695.94
The talk of the town in 2015, this teen is the youngest professional gamer to become a millionaire at the age of 16. SumaiL started playing Counter Strike and DotA Allstars from an early age when he lived in Pakistan. After shifting to America, he started playing in the North American Elite League where he came in the limelight. SumaiL was recruited by Evil Geniuses on January 5, 2015, and helped the team win the Dota Asian Championship. In the same year, Evil Geniuses also won The International 2015, and the rest is history.
6. Peter “ppd” Dager – $2,643,480.36
Known as one of the best Dota 2 players in history, ppd was part of The International 2015 champion’s team, Evil Geniuses. Ppd has won more than $2.5 million from 59 tournaments. After retiring from active play, he became the CEO of Evil Geniuses. However, his love for the game just couldn’t let him stay away for long as he became an active player again in 2017, captaining a new team, OpTic Gaming. Let’s see what happens when he comes face-to-face with Evil Geniuses.
5. Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen – $2,820,976.24
Another player from Team Liquid has secured a top spot on the charts after winning The International 2017. MATUMBAMAN is a Finnish Dota 2 player who is only 22 years old. He has played 45 tournaments to date and earned $2,820,976.24 during his career. Let’s see if he can do it again next year!
4. Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov – $2,821,271.96
Currently ranked at #4, Ivan is an important asset of Team Liquid and helped the team win The International 2017. He has been in the team for around 2 years and is proving his worth as a great player. He is from Bulgaria and has made a name for himself by showcasing his skills in many major Dota 2 tournaments.
3. Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora $2,935,860.27
The highest paid gamer in the USA is an active part of Evil Geniuses. One of his notable achievements is assisting his team with his amazing skills to win The International 2015. UNiVeRsE has been part of Evil Geniuses since 2013 and has no plans of leaving the team.
2. Amer “Miracle” Barqawi – $3,061,076.48
Miracle turned out to be a great asset for GH in The International 2017. With his share of the winning prize, he jumped into the highest paid eSports players list by getting $2,172,536.60. Apart from that, he also won many other major tournaments in 2017, making it a great year for Miracle.
1. Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasom – $3,480,788.35
Topping the charts is none other than the highly experienced captain of 5Jungz, KuroKy. He has always shown great gaming skills and improvement in his gameplay with consistent wins over the years. However, he got his real fame after winning the championship with Team Liquid. Let’s see how long he can maintain this position!
These are the current highest paid eSports players in the world. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
