Mind-Blowing Numbers: How Much Professional Dota 2 Gamers Earned in 2018?

The previous year highlighted the importance and profitability of the gaming industry, bringing gamers a great deal of money and world fame.  

After years of being in the shadow, the gaming industry has finally come to light and can be considered as a full-time profession worth millions of dollars. In 2018 alone, players of such games as Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and FIFA made a fortune that can turn their next years into careless days.

N0tail ($2 million + stream + paycheck)

The winner of The International 2018 Dota 2 Championship Johan Sunstein, or better known among Dota 2 community as N0tail, got about $2 million for the tournament that lasted less than a month, with the overall prize pool of the championship amounted to $25 million. Neither before nor after TI8, team OG captain N0tail succeed in his attempts to win medals in championships. Overall income of the 25-year-old Danish player is estimated at $3.7 million (excluding paycheck and streams), which is more than most poker or baccarat players have ever won.

Ramzes666 ($590,000 + advertising + stream)

2018 started on a positive note for Ramzes666 (Roman Kushnarev) and his team Virtus.pro, with two consecutive wins in Dota Major Championships and second place in the China Dota2 Supermajor. Excellent performance in the first half of the year presaged, if not a victory then at least the second or third place in The International 2018 for Ramzes666; however, his team finished in the first third of the winning list. Close to 2019, Ramzes666 and Virtus.pro won The Kuala Lumpur Major and were second in The Chongqing Major, which brought the team as much as $520,000. In total, about $350,000 in tournament winnings were paid to the 19-year-old gamer from Russia.

Beyond the gaming industry, Roman Kushnarev is a famous boy from Head & Shoulders advertisement; and according to Mrs. Marple (Virtus.pro media representative), he signed a contract with a high-level brand and will soon again appear on TV.

The average salary in Virtus.pro amounts to $20,000 per month, which is an additional $240,000 for Ramzes666 in a year.

Xyp9x ($600,000 + stream + paycheck)

Unlike Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive championships are less profitable. The most successful gamer of all time Andreas Hojsleth (aka Xyp9x) has earned about $1.4 million in tournaments throughout his career starting from 2011, and the top-5 player from the profit-list gained $913,000. In comparison, Dota 2 professional earnings of less than a million fall on the top-62 player.

In the previous year, Xyp9x and his team Astralis beat Team Liquid, which brought them $1,000,000 (about $200,000 each player). Apart from that, team Astralis finished first in all major tournaments that took place in 2018, and total payout amounted to $2 million (approximately $400,000 each player).

Miracle- ($450,000 + stream)

Amer Al-Barkawi (Miracle-), a role model for millions of Dota 2 fans, was a winner of two Dota Major Championships in 2018 and took fourth place in The International 2018, which in total brought him as much as $350,000. Interestingly, annual salary in Team Liquid — a member of which is Amer Al-Barkawi — ranges between $100,000 and $200,000, meaning that during the 2018 season Miracle-’s official earnings exceeded $450,000.

In addition to the championships, Miracle- has a large audience of fans on live video streaming platform Twitch — the source of income that claims to bring him even more than his annual salary at Liquid organization.

Mosaad Aldossary ($250,000 + stream)

Mosaad Aldossary is a FIFA player from Saudi Arabia who, in 2018, succeeded in FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) more than others. His award for winning the tournament was a humble $250,000, and his runner-up received $50,000 in prize money.

The game is played on PlayStation and Xbox, with some players preferring one gaming console to another.