Who are the highest-earning esports players?

Dominic Sacco

7 min read | 11 Jan 2017

From David Beckham to Muhammad Ali, the world of traditional sports has given us countless sporting superstars. But now esports is getting its own household names. We list some of the highest-earning esports players from 2020, across a mix of games, courtesy of Esports Earnings


Johan ‘N0tail’ Sundstein (DOTA 2)
Estimated earnings: Around $7m

SOURCE: Dreamhack

N0tail rose to fame back in 2012, and is mainly known for his competitive Dota play. Although he is only 27, he has achieved a lot during his esports career, even being the in-game leader for the Fnatic.EU team.

At the moment, the Danish pro is the captain of OG’s Dota team, as well as being the player with the highest prize earnings in the world.
@OG_BDN0tail

Kyle ‘Buhga’ Giersdorf (Fortnite)
Estimated earnings: $3.1m

SOURCE: ESTNN

18-year-old Buhga is renowned for being the solo winner of the first Fortnite World Cup back in 2019, and is ranked 12th in the world. Playing with the Sentinels, Kyle has been able to expand his esports career at such a young age and continues to dominate the Fortnite scene.

The American player is still competing, as well as producing Fortnite YouTube videos for his 3.75 million subscribers.
@Bugha

Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen (CS:GO)
Estimated earnings: $1.8m

SOURCE: ESL

Currently playing for Astralis, dupreeh is the highest earnings esports player for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at just 27 years old. The Danish player was the first to win four Major tournaments, with three of those wins being consecutive.

He was ranked as the 9th best CS:GO player in 2020 by coverage site HLTV – which closely follows the pro scene of CS:GO and covers all major tournaments.
@dupreeh

Lee ‘Faker’ Sang Hyeok (League of Legends)
Estimated earnings: $1.2 million+

SOURCE: Riot Games

Faker has been arguably named the best player ever in League of Legends. The Korean pro plays (and owns part of) team T1, and continues to play as one of their top talents.

He has been dubbed the ‘Unkillable Demon King’ in his mid-lane role in T1, being one of two players to have won the League of Legends Championships three times.
@Faker

Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter (Call of Duty)
Estimated Earnings: $1.1million+

SOURCE: MLG

Crimsix has been given the nickname ‘Crimbot’ because of his impeccable gaming skills, and is known as one of the best. Competing in Halo:Reach, Porter secured high placings at MLG Columbus, before moving to Call of Duty esports in 2012.

With 37 major tournament wins under his belt for Call of Duty, the American pro has made a name for himself – being the first in the world to be given the ‘MLG Pro Player’ title. Currently, Crimsix plays for the Dallas Empire; with plans to play in the 2021 CDL.
@Crimsix

Niclas ‘Pengu’ Mouritzen (Rainbow Six Siege)
Estimated earnings: $355,000+

SOURCE: ESL

Pengu was an active player in Rainbow Six Siege Esports since being signed in late 2018, but has recently retired. The 23-year-old from Denmark is known for his consistent plays, and is deemed as having the ‘most dominant roster in Siege’s history’.

Pengu streams on Twitch for his 927k followers in Siege and other games.
@G2Pengu

Kim ‘Rascal’ Dong Jun (Overwatch)
Estimated earnings: $330,000+

SOURCE: Blizzard Entertainment

Rascal has been a prominent competitive player in Overwatch since its release. Originally starting out on the London Spitfire team in the inaugural season of the Overwatch League, Rascal now plays as the flex Support/DPS for reigning champions San Francisco Shock.

The 22-year-old Korean player is seen as one of the most versatile players in the Overwatch scene – and remains on the active roster for the upcoming 2021 season.
@Rascal.