Who are 5 of the biggest esports teams?

Dominic Sacco

5 min read | 6 Dec 2016

Professional esports organisations have grown to a level that would have been unthinkable two decades ago.

We take a look at five of the top teams across the world, according to overall tournament winnings, as devised by esportsearnings. 

These statistics are subject to change at any point, but all are correct at the time of writing.

#5 – Virtus.pro ($15m)

SOURCE: Virtus.Pro

Earning over $15 million across 520 tournaments, Virtus.pro have made a huge impact in the esports scene across a variety of games. With teams that compete in Dota 2, Counter Strike, Fortnite, Hearthstone and more, the organisation have made a big impact. Moreover, the team now fund for a very special bear called Alladin to be cared for in Moscow zoo – he resembles the Virtus.Pro logo, and has become the mascot of the team!

Dota 2 player Vladimir ‘Noone’ Minenko, from Ukraine, sits in the top spot as the highest earning player for Virtus.pro, having won over $1.6 million across 81 different tournaments.


#4 – Fnatic ($16m)

SOURCE: Fnatic

Forming back in 2004, Fnatic are one of the biggest and most well-known names in the esports industry. Fnatic are mainly based in London, and are one of a few teams that have a Valorant roster that consists of UK players. The team have also done a lot of crowdfunding, as well as having produced various pieces of merchandise under their brand.

They have earned just under $16 million across 946 tournaments, with their top player being Jesper ‘JW’ Wecksell – a Swedish CS:GO pro.


#3 – Evil Geniuses ($24m)

SOURCE: Evil Geniuses

US organisation Evil Geniuses have gone on to become one of the biggest names in esports. They have teams in Dota, Starcraft II, CS:GO and several others – and have $24 million worth of prize money under their belts. Evil Geniuses are one of only a few teams to have mixed rosters – with their Valorant team consisting of both men and women.

Pakistani Dota 2 player Sumail ‘SumaiL’ Hassan is the Evil Geniuses highest earning player, who sits with over $3.6 million in prize winnings across 71 different tournaments.


#2 – OG ($34m)

SOURCE: Team OG

OG is the second highest earning esports team in the world, accumulating over $34 million in tournament winnings. They are widely known for their Dota 2 team, but also are renowned for the content they produce. As well as this, OG was the first team to win a Dota 2 Valve major tournament, and have won it four times. 

Johan ‘N0tail’ Sundstein from Denmark is the highest earning player for OG to date, with almost $7 million in winnings playing Dota 2.


#1 – Team Liquid ($36m)

SOURCE: Team Liquid

Originally starting out as a Dutch StarCraft clan in 2000, Team Liquid have become a household name. They signed their first professional players back in 2010, before recruiting a professional Dota 2 team from North America to step into multi-genre management. Liquid have some prominent UK rosters, and are renowned for their teams in FPS titles.

Bulgarian Dota 2 player Ivan ‘MinD_ContRoL’ Ivanov is their highest earning player, having earned $4.5 million in prizes across 75 different tournaments.

These teams are just some of the most successful brands in esports, and there are several other groups making their impact across the globe.

As esports continues to grow as an industry, more and more teams are emerging across the world. Both professional and grassroots teams are gaining popularity, and more young players are set to become professionals even faster.