Esports is a growing phenomenon, with millions entertained worldwide watching professional gamers battle it out to win the latest championship.
Whilst esport players have the potential to earn eye-watering amounts in the tournaments themselves, they also have the opportunity to cash in on social media through sponsored posts.
We have investigated the highest earning esport players, shortlisted the players with the greatest Instagram earning potential and highlighted the top tournament pools worldwide so you know the ones to watch, if you’re new to the scene.
Who are the highest earning esport players?
The highest earning esport player worldwide is N0tail (John Sundtein). The professional gamer has earnt over $7 million throughout his career, with his highest payday earned from competing in Dota 2 during ‘The International 2019’.
Ranking in second is JerAx (Jesse Vainikka) who has earned just short of $6.5 million over his gaming career.
Taking third place is ana (Anathan Pham), who has cashed in over $6 million as a professional gamer.
How much are esports players earning compared to national salaries?
The best esports players are earning an average of 104 times their respective country’s national average salary, with Pakistan’s Sumail Hassan earning over 1,000 times the country’s national average wage.
Highest earning esport players worldwide
Which esport star has the highest Instagram earning potential?
We found that Bugha (Kyle Giersdorf) has the highest Instagram earning potential, compared to his fellow esports stars.
Since winning the Fortnite World Cup in 2019, he has amassed over 4.5 million followers on Instagram, meaning that he has the potential to earn around £19,780 per sponsored post.
By posting just one sponsored post per month, we predict that Bugha could earn a whopping £237,000 per year.
Ranking in second is s1mple (Oleksandr Kostyljev), who has 1.6 million followers on Instagram. With potential earnings of £6,880 per post, we predict his total earnings could reach £82,500 over the course of a year.
Taking third place is Faker (Lee Sang Hyeok) with 1.5 million Instagram followers. With a sponsored instagram post worth £6,450, we predict that his annual earnings could reach £77,400.
