Top 7 Richest Professional Gamers
Professional gaming - in all of it's glory - is one of the most lucrative and unexpected
additions to the sporting world.
Although the players may compete from the comfort of their custom chairs - when it comes
to sponsorships, endorsements and contracts, e-Sports competitors are now treated the same
as professional athletes complete with corporate backing and event tie-ins.
Let's take at look at seven of the richest and most successful video game players in
the world.
This six figure Starcraft player from South Korea starts us off at number seven.
Lee Young-Ho, also known by his alias handle "Flash", is a professional Starcraft player
based in South Korea.
Hailing from the country with more StarCraft winners than any other country in the world
- Young-Ho quickly established himself as a rising star after joining team KT Rolster
in 2007.
At the young age of just 14 - he cemented his "child prodigy" status by achieving fourth
place at the OnGameNet Starleague event that same year and eventually becoming the #1 ranked
player with the longest reign on the Ranking System.
Widely considered to be one of the greatest StarCraft players of all time, he's amassed
a staggering $495,000 in Starcraft winnings alone.
Moving right along to number six - this Chinese DotA 2 savant earns his spot on our list.
Xie "Super" Junhao, a 22 year old second generation DotA 2 player, quickly made a name for himself
in a surprisingly short amount of time.
Having played professionally since 2011, Junhao joined the competitive team named Vici Gaming,
placing second tier in The Internationals 2014 - also known as the largest DotA 2 tournament
in the world.
Boasting $5m more in winnings than projected and an overall prize pool of almost eleven
million dollars, his team placed second - earning the team almost $1.5 million – with Junhao
receiving a $295,000 cut on the spot.
Since then, his winnings at the DAC tournament and combined victories have accumulated over
$532,000 overall for the young gaming legend.
Keeping with the Dota 2 theme, this American player maintains a slightly hotter edge at
number five.
Currently serving as offlaner (NOTE: THIS WORD IS LIKE A ROAD “LANE” OFF-LANE-R)
for Evil Geniuses – an American Dota 2 team, Saahil Arora, also known in gaming circles
as "UNiVeRsE", has become a mainstay fixture in the North American circuit.
Having competed in all four of Valve's yearly championships for the game, his records indicate
he's won more money than any other North American player alone, currently sitting at ninth best
worldwide.
The 26 year old began his lucrative professional career in 2011, winning an unbelievable 18
tournaments in just 2014 alone, his earnings have tipped toward almost $600,000 - with
$256,000 of that amount stemming from a single 1st place win in 2015.
With a blooming career and the attention from multiple possible endorsements, Arora's trajectory
doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Coming in at number four, this contract bearing Warcraft player with some unreal earnings.
A large part of e-Sports gaming isn't just banking on tournament wins to pay the bills.
Big contracts and sponsorships are a key element to a competitor's overall success, and Jang
"moon" Jae Ho is no exception.
Aside from earning the #21 highest-earning career wide spot, the South Korean Jae Ho
inked a $500,000 contract with Korean based WeMade Entertainment in 2009 - setting records
at the time.
Currently the highest-earning warcraft player of all time, earning an estimated additional
$454,000 in game winnings.
As a five-time Warcraft III World Champion and three-time televised winner, Jae Ho's
11 year career ended in 2014 after he announced his official retirement.
Moving into our topmost earners, this American Call Of Duty super-soldier comes in at number
three.
Matt Haag, an American pro gamer more commonly referred to as "NaDeSHoT", has made some wise
career choices to bolster his overall earnings.
Although ranked as the 115th overall career earner, he maintains an active sponsorship
with Red Bull, operates a YouTube gaming channel (with an astonishing 1.5 million subscribers)
and is the co-owner and captain of the OpTic Gaming Team - effectively making him the highest
paid Call Of Duty professional in the world.
With an estimated $700,000 coming in annually just from streaming video alone, his otherwise
meager sounding $186,000 in game wins (with other players actually criticizing his in-game
talent) has boosted his revenue stream to solidify his place on our list - skilled or
not.
This lifetime achieving poster child for pro-gaming comes in at number two.
Johnathan Wendel, aka "Fatal1ty ", is commonly known as the world's first prominently accomplished
e-Sports competitor.
Finding success through a string of first person shooting titles including Quake III
Arena, Unreal Tournament 2003 and Painkiller - Wendel won a total of 12 world championship
titles, four player of the year awards and was awarded the first ever Lifetime Achievement
Award by eSports, also being inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame in 2010 and the
Guinness World Book Of Records as highest-earning e-Sports player until the end of 2013.
On top of his $455,000 in winnings, he's opened his own gaming product business that pulls
in millions annually.
And finally – the number one richest gamer on our list, the man known as "Ocelote".
(NOTE Pronounced: OH-SAY-LO-TAY)
Carlos Rodriguez, a Spanish League of Legends and World of Warcraft player has been described
as the "David Beckham of e-Sports" due to his branding, image and appearance.
Identified with the European team SK Gaming, their statistics may not be staggering - but
his earnings certainly are.
In a 2013 interview, Rodriguez stated his income comes from merchandising, tournaments,
streaming and personal sponsorships.
His average yearly pull?
Somewhere in the neighborhood of €600,000 and €700,000 annually - translating to close
to one million US dollars per year.
Born in 1990, this Madrid native has proven that you don't need pitch perfect gameplay
to pull in the BIG big bucks.
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