Enter the email address you used for registration. That is already starting to pay off. As shown in Figure 3, global revenue for eSports is projected to reach $1.65 billion in 2021. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Alexander Garfield originally founded the team as a Canadian Counter-Strike team in 1999. Recently the renowned Forbes magazine released their list of top 10 Esports org's by the amount of revenue generated for the year 2020 and the amount of money these Esports organizations generate is insane. But the losers outweighed the winners this year. Once again, TSM, owned by Andy Dinh, leads the way, rising 32% to $540 million. Industry-wide revenue, which was expected to jump 16% to $1.1 billion in 2020, instead fell $150 million after the pandemic canceled most live events, according to industry research group Newzoo. Maroun "GH" Merhej $4.1 Million. That is why eSports players stream as well. Total Winnings: $139,418 Signature Legends . Among the hardest hit was Immortals Gaming Club, another Los Angeles-based group, which fell off the list because of a singular focus on competitive gaming. Team Liquid is a professional eSports team founded in the Netherlands in 2000. In the Forbes annual list of the most valuable eSports organizations, two teams share the top spotSoloMid and Cloud9. Copyright 2012-2023 Esports Earnings. The vast majority of companies are cash-flow (in the sense of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) negative as they continue to spend money to build their rosters and brands. 1. The Esports team will test how the game is designed to be highly competitive, using tournament-style gameplay that will be put to the test by top players. Player costs typically eat up half of a companys operating budget. The company launched the community initiative Liquid+ last year and has a video content production arm in 1UP Studios and an influencer management agency in Liquid Media while still maintaining ownership of the wiki network Liquipedia. They were smart. Most of the ad revenue from a streamers videos is returned to the streamer. Virtus.pro is a Russian eSports team, established in 2003. When FaZe Clan, the esports and entertainment company with a rock-star image and a cavalcade of celebrity partners, revealed in October that it planned to go public through a SPAC merger, the announcement came with a bold claim: that FaZe was already worth $650 million and would reach $1 billion with the money it raised in the deal. The ESPN cover boy has 3.5 million followers on Twitter, 19 million subscribers for his YouTube channel and 11 million on Twitch.TV, and has showed up on mainstream talk shows including Ellen. Here are 15 of the most popular eSports teams right now in alphabetical order. The world champion team EDward Gaming "only" received around half a million. Indeed the most lucrative game by far is Dota, and variations thereof. Dota2, in particular, appears to be where most of the money is nowadays.Cumulative prizes for Dota 2 nearly reached $50 million in 2021. At present, teams from the organization compete in CS:GO, Dota 2, League of Legends, and Hearthstone. Since Valorant's release in the summer of 2020, competition has soared to . Once again, TSM, owned by Andy Dinh, leads the way, rising 32% to $540 million. Last month, it sold its CDL franchise to 100 Thieves and its OpTic Gaming brand name, worth $10 million by Forbes estimates, to its original creatorHector HECZ Rodriguez, now NRG Esports co-CEOto use for that companys Chicago-based CDL franchise. They also operate in games like Fortnite, Smite, and StarCraft 2, and according to Forbes, their estimated revenue sits at $5 million, with a total valuation of $120 million. For the first time since 2014, Fnatic comes in under the $1M mark, through no real fault of its own, riding its CS:GO team and the $321K it made in 2020 to the No. Fnatics Dota 2 team was able to secure $168K in winnings playing in a very limited amount of events, having played in no events since Sept. 27. R6 is an esport that is looking to scale, having added four teams for a total of 20 that will now be competing in the Six Invitational 2021, which Spacestation will obviously be a part of. In an even more distant future, the establishment of a metaverse linking multiple popular games together could steal some power from publishers, allowing teams to sell items or avatars that could transfer from game to game and mitigating the IP issues they are currently navigating. The Esports organizations participating in Mobile Legends could be forced to drop or never sign a team for Wild Rift due 2022 The Esports Observer - a brand by Esports Business Solutions UG (haftungsbeschrnkt) i.L. Evil Geniuses 4. TSM's League of Legends team is one of the most successful in the game. FaZe now boasts over 230 million followers across all its related social platforms and is worth $305 million to rank No. Team Liquid's estimated value is $310 million and they successfully generated $28 million this year. Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game, played in matches between two teams of five players, with each team occupying and defending their own separate base on the map. 2. If you want to succeed in Asia, you have to be the bestits all about competition. That certainly helps explain the success of Seoul-based T1. Revenue figures in our table represent an estimate for 2020 and are separated into competitive gaming and related businesses, based on information provided by the companies. Much like Virtus.pro, Team Liquid brought home the bulk of its 2020 prize money from CS:GO and Dota 2. Founded in 2014 and hailing from China, Wings Gaming were the second richest eSports team, despite only being . While it is typical in esports that one event, such as the Dota 2 International, is usually the cause of a teams No. According to Forbes, G2s value has grown by $60 million in 2019, up to $165 million, with an estimated revenue of $22 million per year. That same month the revenue of FaZe Clan was estimated $40 million. Esports players can earn with a regular salary from their eSports team, prize money from eSport competitions, sponsorships and usually also streaming revenue from Twitch or Youtube. Indeed, in Forbes new ranking of the most valuable esports companies, the top ten are worth an average of $353 million, up 46% from the last edition of the list, in December 2020. These include a womans team they added in September 2012. While many companies are expanding beyond esports, Forbes chose not to consider for this ranking Luminosity Gaming parent Enthusiast Gaming, which derives just 3% of its revenue from esports, according to its filings as a public company. SynerGE (PUBG Mobile) SynerGE is a mobile gaming team where the owner for the team is Sameer Peerjade and the CEO of the team is Dr. Rushindra Sinha, Mohit Israney, Yash Manoj Singh. However, much like G2, Liquid has diversified its team portfolio and brings in money from multiple titles. Since then it has won more than 100 gold, 170 silver and 220 bronze medals in various eSports tournaments. Cloud9 & Team SoloMid (Tied) - $583.8 million Cloud9 Franchise League (s) - Team (s): LCS - Cloud9, Overwatch - London Spitfire Cloud9 Non-franchise Teams: CS:GO, Fortnite, Hearthstone, PUBG, Rainbow Six, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, Teamfight Tactics, WoW It has dedicated teams for Dota 2, Hearthstone, and League of Legends. Indeed the most lucrative game by far is Dota, and variations thereof. scene and hopes to see, along with many other organizations, Valve revive the scene in 2021. . They are known for their League of Legends, Dota 2, and StarCraft II teams but have recently expanded into CS: GO and Hearthstone. FaZe finished the regular season as the No. This list represents the top ranking teams in esports who won the most prize money based on tournament results, player transfers and team statements published on the internet. Newbee 13. Ninja is the type of gamer every esports company and their sponsors covet. It has built a series of teams for different games. The Los Angeles-based company, which is developing a lifestyle brand at the intersection of apparel, entertainment and esports, in December announced a $60 million funding round at a $460 million valuation. Top 100 Highest Overall Earnings - Esports Player Rankings :: Esports Earnings Player Rankings Highest Overall Earnings Highest Single Game Earnings Highest Earnings By Country Highest Earnings By Age Most Tournament Results Last 30 Days Last 90 Days Last 365 Days Female Players Console Players Fighting Game Players 7. | T1 Clubs have a certain value, not only in conventional sports. G2 earned $383K in League of Legends, more than $330K in CS:GO, $163K in R6, $159K in Rocket League, more than $100K in Valorant, and more in other titles. Paid subscriptions are also a great way for streamers to bring in revenue. This organizations prize pool money is directly tied to the Dota 2 scene and hopes to see, along with many other organizations, Valve revive the scene in 2021. The deal covers multiple Disney-controlled networks including ESPN, Disney XD and ABC. Team Liquid began as a gaming community website. League of Legends also made up a large portion of the organizations 2020 winnings, with Fnatic taking home $214K, with $101K of that coming from its 5th-8th finish at the World Championships. If your goal is just to be the Dallas Cowboys and just operate in competitive gaming, that is cool, but its a long way off, says Andy Miller, CEO of NRG and co-owner of the NBAs Sacramento Kings. Leading eSports players worldwide as of February 2023, by overall earnings (in million U.S. dollars) Characteristic. Team Secret, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, was able to put together a great year as far as. This represents a 70% growth in the next four years. Notable performances include winning 2013, 2015, and 2016 League of Legends World Championships. OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: A cosplay actress poses at the 2018 North American League of Legends Championship Series Summer Finals between Cloud9 and Team Liquid at ORACLE Arena on September 9, 2018 in Oakland, California. FaZe Clan has broken into mainstream culture in a way no other esports organization has been able to, creating tremendous brand value as it looks to become a full-fledged media company with original content like the contest series Road To FaZe1, the horror movie Crimson and a comic book crossover with Batman. Natus Vincere 7. Paris Saint-Germain Esports 10. Mainstream sponsors and advertisers involved with traditional sports like football and baseball may not jump aboard the esports bandwagon. Founded in 2016, its become home to over 90 gamers from around the globe. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The deal could pump new resources into Activisions esports leaguesor esports could become an afterthought in Microsofts massive budget. The ad-supported app, which has 10 million active monthly users and offers playing analysis and training sessions, now accounts for half of the companys $45 million in revenue. 100 Thieves 100 Thieves is one of the top gaming teams in the world today. But its bottom line is still ugly, the SPAC climate has grown more perilous, and the companys recently disclosed agreement with partner Snoop Dogg suggests it might be lowering its own valuation. It holds the record for the most League of Legends Championship Series split titles in the EU LCS. In 2019, Team Secret took 4th place in The International 2019 winning $2,059,804 dollars in prize money. 22 when compared to last years list. , and more in other titles. In July, Activision Blizzard signed a multiyear deal with Walt Disney to broadcast the Overwatch League on linear television. Another CIS team from top 10 best esports teams of our list is Team Spirit. He has sponsorships with Samsung, Red Bull and Uber Eats. Following this, the market saw immense growth going into 2020 with a 15% rise on the previous year. That was two months after the company made its first acquisition, buying gaming keyboard brand Higround. The eye-watering valuations for the rest of the top ten similarly belie the reality of the industry right now: Esports is a tough business, and in some ways getting tougher, and the rise in these companies valuations is largely being driven not by their esports teams but by their other divisions. Fnatic (Valued $175 million)6. Who is the richest esports player? The deal also saw them snap up OpTics LCS spot, which will be rebranded to Immortals, and operate the Los Angeles Valiant OWL team and the MiBR CS:GO squad. So who are the big names of eSports? 100 Thieves emerged as the second-most valuable esports company with a $460 million valuation. Facebook and Amazon go for 7.4 and 3.8 times this years estimated revenue. Since then, this team has gone on to expand its gaming roster. Activision Blizzards ability to maintain its Overwatch League and Call of Duty League operations during the pandemic was instrumental in making sure the North American esports scene remained relevant. By creating a plan and pivoting to online events. No team in Forbes ranking has appreciated more than 100 Thieves, which was fifth on the 2020 list at $190 million. TSM is valued at $540 million, the most valuable esports company in 2022. FaZe Clan (Valued $240 million)3. (Newzoo, 2021) Meanwhile, the global esports market combined with games streaming is expected to be worth $2.1 billion in 2021 and more than $3.5 billion by 2025. In July, its London Spitfire became the first ever champion of the Overwatch league. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Spacestation, much like G2, has teams in multiple esports titles winning $5K here, $10K there, that helped to bolster its numbers for 2020. That said, it's extremely hard to win consistently enough to make eSports a primary source of income. Virtus.pro has more than 50 players on its roster. And for Team Secret, Dota 2 is a staple. 10 Team Liquid . They chose to build a team of good players from around the world. Team Liquid began as a gaming community website and forum founded in 1998, but it truly started its rise to the top of the eSports world when it began sponsoring a Starcraft: Brood War team in 2010. Gen.G is a Korean-based organization but have spread their wings over the last few years and entered the American market with huge success throughout 2018 and 2019. Many consider their Counter-Strike team to be one of the best of all-time, having won three CS: GO Majors. Founded in 2010, this team has exploded from a group of teens with video cams and a love for video gaming and into a multinational army of gamers. Last year there was approximately $240M up for grabs in esports prize pool winnings. match was the catalyst behind the No. Coming in at No. However, the Russia-based esports organization also competes in titles such as Fortnite and Apex Legends. Kevin Hitt is a business reporter for The Esports Observer that specializes in investigative journalism.