15 Of The Highest-Paid Professional Video Gamers In The World
That might seem like a ton of money. But the video games are also a spectator sport, and a lot of people are making serious cash by playing in tournaments and getting lucrative sponsorships from computer parts makers.
They also make money streaming their practice sessions on Twitch.
e-Sports Earnings has ranked the 100 players with the highest overall earnings from competitive gaming.There are more than 150 gamers who have earned over $100,000 in prize money.
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15. Jiang "YYF" Cen - $436,996.10 from 39 tournaments
China's Jiang "YYF" Cen earned most of his cash playing "Dota 2." The largest prize he took home from a single tournament was $200,000 in 2012, as part of a team called Invictus Gaming. He announced this year that he's retiring from gaming (translated).
The "Dota 2" tournament has its own Twitch channel.
14. Luo "Ferrari_430" Feichi - $441,943.83 from 40 tournaments
Luo "Ferrari_430" Feichi, also from China, was part of Invictus Gaming, which won the "Dota 2" championship in 2012. That's also the tournament that won him the most cash: $200,000. The team won $1 million for that tournament alone.
13. Jang "Moon" Jae Ho - $443,118.85 from 87 tournaments
Jang "Moon" Jae Ho is one of the "WarCraft III" players featured in the documentary "Beyond the Game." He's also a "StarCraft II" player, and made $12,799.73 from two tournaments before he was even 18 years old.
You can watch people playing "StarCraft II" on Twitch.
12. Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel - $454,919.23 from 36 tournaments
The world's first prominent professional gamer, America's Johnathan Wendel's success playing first-person shooters earned him massive cash prizes and sponsorship deals with major computer hardware companies.
You can check out his Twitch channel here.
11. Lee "Flash" Young Ho - $469,902.12 from 56 tournaments
Lee "Flash" Young Ho, a Korean "StarCraft: Brood War" and "StarCraft II" player, earned $269,972.27 before the age of 18.
Last year, he announced that his team would be sponsored by Razer and would be streaming on Twitch.
10. Jang "MC" Min Chul - $477,780.20 from 90 tournaments
One of the top "StarCraft 2" players in the world, Korea's Jang Min Chul has made more than $450,000 by regularly placing in tournaments of all sizes since 2010. Just this year so far, he's made more than $50,000 in 10 tournaments.
"StarCraft 2" is among the top games streamed on Twitch.
9. Lee "Jaedong" Jae Dong - $529,114.26 from 61 tournaments
Korea's Lee Jae Dong made huge sums playing "StarCraft: Brood War" before moving on to "StarCraft 2" in 2012. In the second half of 2013, Jaedong became one of the world's top "StarCraft" players.
You can check out his Twitch channel here.
8. Clement "Puppey" Ivanov - $564,360.14 from 45 tournaments
Hailing from Estonia, Clement "Puppey" Ivanov has also earned a respectable amount from competitive "Dota 2."
He's also on Twitch.
7. Oleksandr "XBOCT" Dashkevych - $567,191.74 from 47 tournaments
Another "Dota 2" champ, Ukraine's Dashkevych has been raking in the money since 2011.
You can watch him play on his Twitch channel.
6. Danil "Dendi" Ishutin - $569,495.83 from 49 tournaments
Ukrainian Danil "Dendi" Ishutin made $200,000 playing "Dota 2" in a single tournament. He and XBOCT are on the same team, called Natus Vincere.
And, like his teammate, he has his own Twitch channel.
5. Zhang "Mu" Pan - $1,086,087.11 from 25 tournaments
Zhang "Mu" Pan, from China, and his teammates on team NewBee each made $1,005,661.60 from a "Dota 2" tournament in July.
The tournament, called The International 2014, was streamed on Twitch.
4. Zhang "xiao8" Ning - $1,089,438.88 from 31 tournaments
China's Zhang "xiao8" Ning was captain of team NewBee. He announced his retirement this year.
3. Wang "SanSheng" Zhaohui - $1,097,550.33 from 33 tournaments
China's Wang "SanSheng" Zhaohui is also on team NewBee. He joined the team in April.
2. Jiao "Banana" Wang - $1,099,360.85 from 26 tournaments
China's Jiao "Banana" Wang is also on team NewBee. Before that, he was on another team that came in fourth place at the 2013 "Dota 2" tournament.
1. Chen "Hao" Zhihao - $1,101,493.38 from 28 tournaments
Chen "Hao" Zhihao is the No. 1 highest earner, making more than $1 million just this year so far alone. He's also on team NewBee, which took home the grand prize from this year's "Dota 2" championship.
Want to rewatch the tournament? You can find it on Twitch.
Competition is only one part of gaming ...
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