
Research Shows that Esports Pay Out over $700 Million from Competitive Tournaments
| Tags: General
| Author Brandon Sturak

A recent study from BroadbandChoices finds that competitive esports tournaments have paid out a combined $700 million to participants. Though this is across years of tournaments, the number is still staggering. In addition, the study analyzed the top 25 highest earning esports players in the world. Across them, they have a median age of 24 and has won $3.6 million. This takes into mind players across all sorts of games.
The video game industry is massive, and the esports scene is likewise growing at an astonishing place. The best players are the ones that can capitalize on this the most though. With that said, the top ten highest earners in esports are as follows:
- N0tail (Johan Sundstein) – $6,890,591
- JerAx (Jesse Vainikka) – $6,470,000
- Ana (Anathan Pham) – $6,000,411
- Ceb (Sébastien Debs) – $5,489,233
- Topson (Topias Taavitsainen) – $5,414,446
- KuroKy (Kuro Takhasomi) – $5,128,788
- Miracle- (Amer Al-Barkawi – $4,692,418
- MinD ContRoL (Ivan Ivanov) – $4,483,493
- GH (Maroun Merhej) – $4,086,426
- SumaiL (Sumail Hassan) – $3,591,225
One interesting fact from this list is that the top five earners are all from OG. They are the famous squad that won back-to-back Dota2 Internationals. Their historic accomplishment just happens to coincide with very hefty cash winnings, which makes it all the sweeter.
Furthermore, BroadbandChoices compiled the top paying games. They are as follows:
- Dota 2 – $219,095,635
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – $87,119,453
- Fortnite – $84,420,164
- League of Legends – $73,091,646
- Starcraft II: $32,137,196
Unsurprisingly, Dota 2 leads the pack on total monetary payouts. Their tournaments are known for incredibly large prize pools and during the years they've paid out a ludicrous amount altogether. CS:GO and League of Legends trail behind with relatively close payouts as well. Fortnite, despite being newer to the scene, has nearly caught up to them. And, of course, Starcraft 2 is up there.
These are already high numbers, but it's only up from here. Celebrities and colleges alike are joining in on promoting esports and investing time and money to making the industry flourish.