If you follow eSports even a little bit, we believe that you have repeatedly wondered how much professional players earn in it. The earnings themselves vary with many players. Some earn thousands of dollars a year, and some millions. And isn’t it the same in every other (so-called traditional) sport?
It is clear to you that in recent years, professional video game playing has become one of the highest-paid professions that, indeed, many dreams of. The current development of this industry contributes to the eSports tournaments with the biggest prize pools becoming the main goal of every player who has sailed into these waters. Although millions of dollars can be earned annually in tournaments, numerous sponsorships, as well as various engagements outside of gaming itself, provide the best professional players with additional income. And, in fact, these additional incomes are what make eSports one of the most lucrative professions today.
On the other hand, to reach those same millions requires a lot of sacrifice, training, passion, and determination. And that is why you must try to see the bigger picture here – nothing just falls from the sky and nothing happens without (a lot of) effort. So, let’s find out how much professional eSports players earn, as well as what are the most common forms of income in question.
In Which Ways and How Much Do Professional Esports Players Make Money?
Most professional eSports players combine two or more sources of income. So it is no wonder that many professional players have amassed immense wealth while at the peak of their careers.
So, on average, professional eSports players earn between $ 1,000 and $ 5,000 a month or between $ 12,000 and $ 60,000 a year. We must stress, we are talking about the average here. Their salaries, as well as their overall incomes, depend on several important factors, such are:
- The video game they play
- Skill level
- Number of tournaments won
- Number of sponsors
Now, what else forms the earnings of professional eSports players?
1. Cash Prize
The biggest prizes at tournaments, e.g. in the United States, can reach up to $ 200,000. When it comes to international tournaments, the winner gets over a million dollars!
Since it is often a team competition, the award is shared with team members, but even in this case, these amounts are still incredible.
2. Salaries
Although it was not the case before that professional teams give their players monthly salaries, in recent years the number of organizations that do that has increased. The latest research shows that professional players earn between $ 1,000 and $ 5,000 a month. The most qualified players are also the highest paid, and the amount in their salaries can reach the figure of 15,000 dollars.
Why eSports teams have started giving salaries to their players as a bonus to tournament earnings? Well, as in any other sport, there are transfers of players from one team to another, and a good player should be kept in your team somehow, right?
3. Bonuses
In addition to regular salaries, professional players also receive bonuses, and this usually happens after a big win.
Don’t be surprised, but the bonus amount can sometimes reach $ 20,000 per tournament! This amount is worth the effort. The best eSports players, more precisely, the figures on their bank accounts, testify to that.
4. Sponsors
Although eSports is not yet recognized as a legitimate sport, its professional players, like the most popular football clubs in the world, have many sponsors. Many companies sponsor professional eSports players. Due to the very nature of the business, companies that produce energy drinks, but also computer equipment, are ready to invest a lot of money. Their goal is to find their products next to the players of the most popular eSports in the world.
In addition to salaries, sponsors give their patrons cash bonuses, pay their travel expenses, and offer them countless other benefits.
5. Streaming
Streaming is also a source of huge money that goes into the pockets of professional eSports players. Players can earn tens of thousands of dollars per month with a huge subscription base and constant (quality) games and content.
All of these sources of income are the reason why playing professional video games is a real career that is currently a hit. As in any other area, here you have the best, average, and those who barely survive, so the earnings depend on that. What is also a great thing is that there are many opportunities in eSports that are not related to playing professional video games. Well-paid jobs related to eSports are also:
- Social media manager
- Event manager
- Streamer
- Coach
- Journalist
- Judge
- Sales and marketing specialist
- Owner of the organization
How Much Do Professional Esports Players Earn?
In this business, as in any other, success is a relative thing. Many professional eSports players earn a decent living by doing what they love and enjoy. These same players do not have overpriced real estate, cars, and similar things around them. There are also those who earn minimally, and yet wear the most expensive watches on their hands. It is important to know that the basic salary of a professional eSports player ranges from $ 1,000 to $ 5,000 a month. With cash prizes, sponsorships, and streaming revenue in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, that sum will rise.
Remember, while top professional eSports players earn thousands of dollars every year, the reality is that only a few people enjoy such a salary. If you dream of becoming a professional eSports player, know that there are no shortcuts on this path – order, work, and discipline, and only then astronomical amounts.
If you want to be on the other side of the eSports scene, and to be up to date with all events in eSports, competitions, meetings, tournaments, but without being an active participant, i.e. player, one of the options is to bet on it. And just as there has been an explosion in the development of eSports itself in the last few years, so has the offer of betting on it at online bookmakers. Not only has the number of eSports markets increased but so have the odds, and along the way, bookmakers have increased the number of ways you can deposit your money to bet and withdraw winnings, so now this can be done with cryptocurrencies at some of the bookmakers that are featured at Bookmaker-Expert.com. So, if that is your thing, give it a try – be a part of eSports hype.
