Top 10 Highest Earning Esports Players in the World

With esports becoming increasingly popular, it is only natural that prize funds are also growing in size. Although the majority of esports players have to rely on streaming and additional revenue streams to take home a decent wage, those at the top of their game are pocketing multi-million dollar amounts on a yearly basis. In fact, the most successful esports players are securing earnings that rival the take-home pay of the biggest names in traditional sports. Below, we break down the 10 biggest earners as of 2021.

10. Lasse Urpalainen

Lasse Urpalainen (otherwise known as “MATUMBAMAN”) first burst onto the scene in 2014 at the Assembly Summer LAN tournament. One of the highest-earning Dota 2 players around, Urpalainen was originally a team member of Veni,Vidi,Vici. He subsequently joined the rosters of Team Liquid and Chaos EC, before signing up with Team Secret in late 2019. As of 2021, Urpalainen has netted a total of 3.77 million US dollars.

9. Maroun Merhej

Maroun “GH” Merhej is another big name in the esports world. Another professional Dota 2 player, this Lebanese-based pro first entered the fray in 2014 as a member of Wired Gaming. He has since played for E-LAB and Team Liquid, although currently plays for Team Nigma. As of 2021, Merhej’s total earnings are approximately 4.6 million US dollars.

8. Ivan Ivanov

Ivan Ivanov is perhaps best known by his “MinD_ContRoL” handle. As with the previous two entries in this list, Ivanov has made a name for himself playing Dota 2 professionally. Starting out with Vast Cast in 2010, Ivanov is one of the most established esports professionals around. Since leaving Vast Cast in 2014, he has gone on to play with Aftershock Gaming, Basically Unknown and Team Liquid. Since 2019, he has been a firm fixture of Team Nigma. His current esports earnings stand at 4.6 million US dollars.

7. Amer Al-Barqawi

Better known by his moniker of “Miracle-”, Amer Al-Bargawi is another standout star from the Team Nigma roster. He might be young, but Al-Bargawi has been a staple fixture on the Dota 2 circuit since 2015. Debuting with the Balkan Bears, he has since gone on to play for teams including OG and Team Liquid. Currently, his total earnings stand at approximately 4.8 million US dollars.

6. Kuro Takhasomi

Kuro Takhasomi, better known as “KuroKy”, is another esports professional who has made his fortune playing Dota 2. This German gaming legend cut his teeth playing DotA with Online Kingdom, but has since gone onto play with some of the biggest Dota 2 teams in the business. Currently taking on dual support and captain roles with Team Nigma, Takhasomi’s total earnings stand at 5.2 million US dollars.

5. Topias Taavitsainen

Finish professional Topias Taavitsainen, better known as “Topson”, is yet another high-earning Dota 2 player. Despite being one of the top earners in the business, Taavitsainen is still fairly new to the esports arena, having only debuted in 2017. Initially playing for SFTe-esports, he subsequently joined the roster of 5 Anchors No Captain, before taking on his current role with OG. As of 2021, Taavitsainen’s total esports earnings are approximately 5.5 million US dollars.

4. Sébastien Debs

Currently going by ‘Ceb”, but previously known as “7ckngMad”, Sébastien Debs has been an active Dota 2 player since 2011. He has played with some of the biggest teams in the business, but has been a staple fixture of OG since 2015. Thanks to his years-long playing history, Debs has managed to secure total earnings of approximately 5.56 million US dollars.

3. Anathan Pham

Australian Anathan Pham, better known as “ana” is another esports professional who has amassed a considerable fortune playing Dota 2. Debuting in 2013 as part of Mobility Gaming, Pham has since played as part of Invictus Gaming and Team World. However, he is best known for his on-off collaboration with OG. As of 2021, Pham’s net earnings total 6 million US dollars.

2. Jesse Vainikka

Although he retired from playing Dota 2 professionally in early 2020, Jesse Vainikka still remains one of the wealthiest esports players around. Better known as “JerAx”, this Finnish pro occupied spots on top-tier teams including Team Liquid and OG during his career. By the time of his retirement, Vainikka had amassed a fortune of almost 6.5 million US dollars.

1. Johan Sundstein

Although plenty of esports professionals have amassed sizeable fortunes, few players come anywhere near to the success achieved by Johann Sundstein. Better known as “N0tail”, this Danish esports star has been playing Dota 2 professionally since 2012. He has played with the likes of Team Secret and Cloud9, but currently serves as captain for OG. He also briefly served as coach for the OG secondary squad, OG Seed, before it was disbanded. Currently, Sundstein’s net winnings stand at almost 7 million US dollars.

Future Stars of Esports

Although professional Dota 2 players dominate the list of the highest esports earners, this may not always be the case. With League of Legends continuing to remain popular and more mainstream video game developers turning their attention to esports competition, players of other titles and genres are likely to permeate the top ten going forward. If you’re eager to follow the careers of the next generation of esports pros, 1337PRO and similar platforms are definitely worth investigating.