There used to be a time where playing video games for money is a fool’s gambit, but the adage is starting to sound like an old wives tale according to recent reports. This calendar year, the top esports players around the world pocketed $52 million in overall earnings, a shocking number that correlates with the rise of the esports industry.
Without question, the big money games come from team based titles such as League of Legends, Dota 2, CS: GO, and others and the top teams around the world have brought in a massive cash haul. OG brought in $15.8 million in tournament winnings, a commanding 30% of the overall pot. Team Liquid came in second with $9.4 million and Lazarus, Canada’s first esports team, took home $4.1 million in third place.
The full report from GoldenCasinoNews details the plunder esports competitors amassed this calendar year as the industry continues to leave its roots as a niche hobby behind and become a billion dollar enterprise. OG’s dominance in high stakes play showed as they competed in just 15 tournaments to earn their winnings, whereas Team Liquid was involved in 190 events to come in second place. In addition to team play, it is also clear that the numbers support Dota 2 as the game with the highest earning potential for teams and individuals.
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein has become a multi-millionaire playing Dota 2, making a staggering $6.89 million in 2019. Finnish Dota player Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka was right on his heels raking in $6.47 million. Beyond that, Dota 2 also touts having all of the ten highest-paid players in the world. All of this doesn’t take into account any sponsorship deals, such as merchandise or streaming contracts, so the numbers on an individual basis may be quite higher.
If anything, this just reinforces the growth of the esports industry as it is becoming extremely profitable for players and organizations alike. Though there is concern that there could be a potential bubble burst down the line, perhaps due to the industry structure as Mark Cuban alluded to a few months back, making millions playing video games is no longer a pipe dream.
Source: Golden Casino News