Playing video games for a living sounds like a dream.Believe it or not, there are gamers who are doing exactly that. And they’re making some serious money.
e-Sports Earnings has ranked the 100 players with the highest overall earnings from competitive gaming.
There are 100 gamers who have earned over $100,000 in prize money.
To top it off, that’s not even counting the sponsorship deals and income that many of these players receive from streaming their practice games on services like Twitch.
15. Park ‘Lyn’ Joon – $317,610.95 from 77 tournaments
Team AAA
Park “Lyn” Joon
Korea’s Park “Lyn” Joon earned most of his cash playing “WarCraft III.” The largest prize he took home from a single tournament was $25,000 in 2009.
14. Jerry ‘EGM’ Lundqvist – $340,474.95 from 29 tournaments
The Richest
Jerry “EGM” Lundqvist
Sweden’s Jerry “EGM” Lundquist has already made close to $20,000 from seven tournaments in 2014 alone. Last year, he made $287,440.80 from a single tournament playing “Dota 2.” (He was part of a team, called The Alliance, that made a total of more than $1.4 million.)
13. Henrik ‘AdmiralBulldog’ Ahnberg – $344,537.40 from 36 tournaments
The Richest
Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg
Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg, who also hails from Sweden, earned $287,440.80 from a single tournament playing “Dota 2.” He’s taken first place in 18 tournaments.
12. Gustav ‘s4′ Magnusson – $344,821.75 from 38 tournaments
YouTube
Gustav ‘s4′ Magnusson
Sweden’s Gustav “s4″ Magnusson also plays “Dota 2.” He started his career in early 2012.
11. Joakim ‘Akke’ Akterhall – $349,679.35 from 47 tournaments
Gamepedia
Joakim “Akke” Akterhall
Joakim “Akke” Akterhall, from Sweden, is a 26-year-old “Dota 2″ player. Besides being involved in the competitive “Dota” scene since 2006, he also won the Nintendo Swedish Championships three times: in 2004, 2006, and 2012.
10. Jonathan ‘Loda’ Berg – $355,514.05 from 47 tournaments
YouTube
Jonathan “Loda” Berg
Sweden’s Jonathan “Loda” Berg has been on 12 different teams. He gained recognition when he joined The Alliance in 2013. He’s taken first place in 23 tournaments.
9. Jung “Mvp” Jong Hyun – $393,116.38 from 50 tournaments
Global eSports Management
Jung “MVP” Jong Hyun
Jung “Mvp” Jong Hyun, from Korea, plays both “StarCraft: Brood War” and “StarCraft II.” His largest prize was $50,000 from playing “StarCraft II” in a tournament in 2011.
8. Jang ‘Moon’ Jae Ho – $439,677.98 from 81 tournaments
SK-Gaming
Jang “Moon” Jae Ho
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.
7. Lee ‘Flash’ Young Ho – $447,016.47 from 47 tournaments
Think Computers
Lee “Flash” Young Ho
Lee “Flash” Young Ho, a Korean “StarCraft: Brood War” and “StarCraft II” player, earned $269,972.27 before the age of 18.
6. Clement ‘Puppey’ Ivanov – $450,480.14 from 39 tournaments
Lluv
Hailing from Estonia, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov has also earned a respectable amount from competitive “Dota 2.”
5. Jang ‘MC’ Min Chul – $452,926.25 from 78 tournaments
Jang Min-Chul
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.
4. Oleksandr ‘XBOCT’ Dashkevych – $453,311.74 from 41 tournaments
Professional Gaming Life
Another “Dota 2″ champ, Ukraine’s Dashkevych has been raking in the money since 2011.
3. Johnathan ‘Fatal1ty’ Wendel – $454,919.23 from 36 tournaments
Gia To
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.
2. Danil ‘Dendi’ Ishutin – $455,615.83 from 43 tournaments
Digital Storm Online
Danil “Dendi” Ishutin
Ukrainian Danil “Dendi” Ishutin made $200,000 playing “Dota 2″ in a single tournament.
1. Lee ‘Jaedong’ Jae Dong – $519,086.72 from 52 tournaments
ACROFAN
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.
Follow @World_Observer
Get More Right To Your Inbox!
The post 15 Of The Highest-Paid Professional Video Gamers In The World is from World Observer Online.