One of Esports most anticipated events, ESL’s Premier league for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is back for its 14th season, featuring 24 of the best teams from around the world.
Taking place in Malta, it starts on the 16th of August and runs all the way through to the 12th of September. With a huge prize pot of $750,000 up for grabs and some of the biggest names in CS:GO on show, the action is sure to be intense.
OLBG.com’s betting predictions for egames tell us that it’s going to be a hard-fought tournament, but luckily OLBG also offers free betting tips on Esport competitions, making it easier to pick a winner.
But with October’s Dota 2 International tournament offering up an enormous $40 million prize fund and the popularity of Esports continuing to grow, just who are the world’s richest gaming stars?
The Big Dogs
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein
Prize Money: $6.9 million
Specialty: Dota 2
Nationality: Danish
The Danish gamer became the top earner in all of esports in 2019 after leading OG to victory at the International for the second year in succession.
Sundstein is the first and only Danish player to win the International and is the most successful professional Dota 2 player of all time, having won 4 Majors and 2 Internationals.
He scored the highest average deaths per game (9.55) at the International 2018 and holds the record for the most deaths (20) in a single game at the same tournament.
Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka
Prize money: $6.47 million
Specialty: Dota2
Nationality: Finnish
JerAx initially made his name in Heroes of Newerth, but after completing his military service in Finland, he began playing Dota 2.
The Finn became the first ever player to make 4 consecutive Major finals, with Team Liquid at The Shanghai Major and The Manila Major and with OG at The Boston Major and The Kiev Major.
Vainikka retired back in January 2020, but he is most famous for his time playing with OG, becoming the first two-time TI champion in 2019. He currently owns his own clothing label.
Anathan “ana” Pham
Prize money: $6 million
Specialty: Dota 2
Nationality: Australian
The former OG team player announced his retirement from the competitive scene on June 14, 2021, but that doesn’t stop him from grabbing a spot on the all-time money earners list.
He is the first Australian to have won a Valve-sponsored event, and on August 25th, 2019, he became the first two-time The International champion after winning T18 and T19.
Sébastien “Ceb” Debs
Prize money: $5.56 million
Nationality: French/Lebanese
Specialty: Dota 2
Sebastien Debs is better known as Ceb and currently plays for OG. He was a member of the all-conquering team that won the International in 2018 and 2019. He was also the team’s coach during their four Dota Major Championship wins.
Debs remains the first and only French player to win The International, and along with his OG teammates, became the first two-time winner, after victory at T18 and T19.
Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen
Prize money: $5.48 million
Speciality: Dota 2
Nationality: Finnish
Topson has been playing Dota since he was 8 years old, so it’s perhaps no surprise that he finds himself on this list. He currently plays for OG and along with his teammates, became the first two-time The International Winner, after winning two consecutive TIs, in TI18 and TI19.
Miikka had the highest average deaths per game (7.28) of any core player at The International 2018. In 2019 he went on to score the highest average kills per game (9.43).
Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi
Prize money: $5.2 million
Specialty: Dota 2
Nationality: German
The German currently plays for Team Nigma and is the first player to reach 1,000 wins in his professional career. He also ties the record for 2nd most appearances at The International with 9.
Victories at The International 2017, and China Dota 2 Super Major, plus a runner-up spot at The International 2019, earned him a place on this list.
Amer “Miracle” Al-Barkawi
Prize money: $4.8 million
Specialty: Dota 2
Nationality: Jordanian/Polish
Miracle currently plays Dota 2 for Team Nigma. He became only the second player to win The International and 2 Valve Majors (Frankfurt, Manila) and was the first player in Dota 2 history to achieve a matchmaking rating of over 9000.
Amer achieved the highest average kills per game at The International 2016 (9.89) and The International (10.80). His career-high for kills in a single game is 28.
Ivan Borislavov “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov
Prize money: $4.6 million
Specialty: Dota 2
Nationality: Bulgarian
Ivanov is a Dota 2 player for Team Nigma. His achievements include winning The International 2017, China Dota2 Super Major 2018, and Epicenter 2016 and 2017, plus a runner-up spot at The International 2019.
Currently ranked number 7 in the world, the Bulgarian has an all-time win rate of 60%.
The esports market is booming, with audiences tuning in to watch their favorite games being played by the best gamers in the world. By 2024, there are expected to be nearly 286 million esports fans globally – up from 197 million in 2019 – thanks to bigger tournaments and bumper prize funds. If you’ve never watched esports before, maybe it’s time to check it out.
