Competitive gaming has been around for many decades. But it was not until well into the beginning of the new millennium that a real money maker became competitive gaming. Like any of the world’s top physical sports, the Esports market has become a multi-billion dollar industry thanks to large companies, who are now more than willing to make significant investments.
There has also been a considerable rise in competition prize pools, with competitors now earning more cash than most other successful traditional sports athletes make in a whole year from a single tournament.
Total Tournaments: 1800
- Total Prize Money: $35.3 million
Team Liquid Is the number one on the list of top team earners, winning several titles with their Fortnite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Dota 2. TL’s Dota 2 players have taken a more significant share of the overall earnings, much like any other company on this list.
They were ‘The International 2017’ champions and were also the top contenders at The International in 2019 to account for over 65 percent of TL’s overall earnings. The League of Legends team from TL is also known to be one of the best in the game, having won 4 LCS Championships.
OG
- Total Tournaments: 93
- Total Prize Money: $33.8 million
OG (formerly named monkey) was established in 2015 by ‘former Team Secret members Fly and N0tail.’ Since the Esports organization was formed, it has flourished at nearly every Dota 2 competition. In 2018 and 2019, they won consecutive championships at Dota 2’s premier ‘The International’ tournament, bringing home $11.2 million and $15.4 million, respectively, making them the top earners so far in Dota 2. Lately, they introduced teams to the divisions of Super Smash Bros and Counter-Strike Global Offensive.
Evil Geniuses
- Total Tournaments: 851
- Total Prize Money: $24.2 million
Evil Geniuses, one of Esports’ older groups, was formed in 1999. The North American team has participants in Super Smash Bros, League of Legends, Rocket League, CS: GO, and Dota 2. Their Dota 2 squad also took full advantage of their competitions’ superior prize pools, drawing in seven figures since 2014.
They became champions at ‘The International 2015’ with $6.6 million from the competition and more than $8.6 million in the calendar year. They won a total of $19.9 million, contributing 83.79 percent of the EG’s total prize money.
Fnatic
- Total Tournaments: 918
- Total Prize Money: $15.5 million
Fnatic has players playing in nearly every big video game in the Esports industry. That includes Legends League, Rainbow Six Siege, PUBG Smartphone, FIFA, Fortnite Battle Royale, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Street Fighter, Clash Royale, and many more.
Fnatic, established in 2004, became the first team to win the 2011 World League of Legends Championship. Since their establishment, they’ve dominated Europe’s League of Legends Split Championships, keeping seven out of 13 played so far. Their CS: GO participants are also among the best in the game, winning a cash prize of over $4.2 million.
Virtus Pro
- Total Tournaments: 502
- Total Prize Money: $14.3 million
Virtus Pro, also known as VP, was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Russia. VP presently has players playing in several of Esports’ biggest tournaments, including Quake Champions, Heroes of the Storm, Apex Legends, StarCraft II, Dota 2, Hearthstone, and Paladins. They became part of ‘ESforce Esports Holdings’, and in 2015 they got an investment worth $100 million from Russian billionaire ‘USM Holdings’ Alisher Romanov.
By far, VP’s Dota 2 team was the most successful division in aspects of prize money, winning five major championships and contributing a whopping 68 percent to $9.4 million in total winnings. Its CS: GO squad has also drawn in its fair share, raising an extra $3 million and contributing another 22 percent.
