How Much Do Dota 2 Players Make?

Dota 2 is one of the most popular esports titles in the world, and it’s especially known for being the game where big money is at. This game holds the record for the largest prize pool in esports history, reaching over $40,000,000 in 2021. However, tournament winnings are only one part of the picture. In this article, we’ll dive into how professional Dota 2 players make their money and how much they can earn. 

How Do Dota 2 Players Make Money?

When you think about money in Dota 2, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the million-dollar prize pools that the biggest tournaments offer. And though that is certainly a large part of the equation, there are more ways for pro players to earn their dough. Here are the main ways your favorite players are making money:

Tournament Winnings

The easiest way to get an idea of how much money a player has won is by looking at their prize winnings. After all, Dota 2 tournament prize pools and distributions are very transparent and easy to check. 

However, the reality is that these winnings don’t fully come to the players clean. Typically, tournament winnings are split seven ways: five players, the coach, and the organization. It really depends on the team’s contract. 

On top of that, a player’s share of the prize money can also be taxed by their own countries. For example, TI winner Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, who is from Finland, mentioned he had to pay 60% in taxes on his winnings at The International 2018.

And of course, money earned from tournament winnings depends on performance and placements. If you get last place, you’re getting peanuts compared to what the winners are getting. So, this source of income is very inconsistent. 

Team Salaries

The top Dota 2 players are employed under organizations like Team Liquid, Team Falcons, Team Spirit, and so on. These teams pay their players monthly salaries, as they’re pretty much committing all their time to playing Dota 2 and representing the teams. That is why almost every Tier 1 player receives a salary, as they’re pretty much committing to a full-time job playing the game. 

Salaries heavily vary by region. For example, players competing in Europe or America will get paid higher salaries than those in Southeast Asia – that’s just how the economy works. Additionally, salaries also vary based on a player’s reputation. For example, a veteran who has been around for 10 years will likely be paid more than an 18-year-old rookie on the same team.

These salaries generally come from the organization’s sponsors. For example, Team Liquid is sponsored by brands like Alienware, Monster Energy, Visa, and more. 

Streaming, Content Creation, and Brand Deals

A third source of income depends on what else the player is doing. For example, some players also live stream on Twitch or upload videos on YouTube. They can make additional money through donations or ad revenue. 

Some players are also poached to do brand deals, like Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev for Head & Shoulders.

How Much Do Professional Dota 2 Players Actually Make?

Now that we’ve gotten an idea of how Dota 2 players earn their keep, let’s figure out how much money they actually make based on previous claims. 

Tier 1 Players (Top Teams)

Tier 1 players are the best in the world. These are the same guys you see qualify for every big tournament, like The International or Esports World Cup. 

Salaries

First, let’s dive into salaries. According to former professional player Kamil “Koma`” Biktimirov, players in top European teams can get anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 per month. This number is pretty consistent for your average Tier 1 professional player.

Players in Southeast Asia have significantly lower pay, even if they actively qualify for the biggest Dota 2 events. These players typically get paid anywhere between $2,000 to $8,000 monthly, but this is already considered a very high salary in their region. 

The really heavy hitters, like the Michał “Nisha” Jankowski’s, Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk’s, and Artour “Arteezy” Babaev’s of the world can easily surpass that threshold. It wouldn’t be too bizarre to estimate that such players make anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 monthly. 

Tournament Winnings

Income from tournament winnings is one Google search away. Johan “N0tail” Sundstein is notoriously the most successful Dota 2 player, winning over $7 million throughout his career. Players like Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov aren’t far behind either, as he’s comfortably sitting at $6 million. 

The top 100 highest-earning Dota 2 players have all made over $1 million from tournament winnings. But for most professionals who have found more mediocre levels of success, lifetime earnings usually fall somewhere between $100,000 and $600,000, which is, by all means, still really good.

Additional Income Streams

As discussed earlier, professional players have other ways of making money. Many top organizations offer performance incentives for things like tournament placements or major qualifications.

Some players, like Arteezy, used to actively live-stream despite being a full-time professional. The amount of money earned depends on how many monthly subscribers the players earn.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Players

Salaries in the Tier 1 scene may look appealing, but the harsh reality is that it’s not sunshine and rainbows for every professional Dota 2 player. Many highly skilled players – even those who are ranked within the top 50 of their regional leaderboards – are hard-stuck playing Tier 2 or Tier 3 Dota. 

These are the players you’ll often see competing in online tournaments for a few thousand dollars, or teams that occasionally qualify for LAN events but usually get eliminated very early on. Most fans who only watch the biggest tournaments have probably never heard of these players. 

Salaries

Salaries in this bracket are fairly random and inconsistent. Tier 2 players who regularly qualify for bigger events might still get signed under an organization and receive a salary, usually in the low thousands per month. However, smaller organizations may only offer a few hundred dollars monthly, which is often not enough to live on, especially if these players reside in Europe or America. 

For Tier 3 players, the situation is even tougher – it’s the Wild West. Many of them aren’t signed to any organization at all, and instead form temporary stacks to grind open qualifiers and smaller tournaments. It really is a “do or die” situation for these players if their sole income comes from Dota 2.

Tournament Winnings

The unfortunate reality is that players at this tier mostly compete in online tournaments with prize pools ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 – far from the million-dollar prize pools Tier 1 teams fight for. Not to mention, these tournament prize pools are then split among as many as 16 to 24 participating teams. 

This means that to win any meaningful money, a team usually needs to win the entire event or place within the top four. For most Tier 2 and Tier 3 players, tournament winnings are extremely unreliable – and some shady tournament organizers might not even pay out the winnings. 

Balancing Dota With Life

For most Tier 2 and Tier 3 players, playing Dota 2 full-time is simply not realistic, unless they’re signed by a legitimate organization. Many of them have other commitments, like school or part-time jobs, using whatever free time they have to practice and compete. Unless a player is still being financially supported by their parents, committing 12+ hours a day entirely to Dota can be difficult and unrealistic. 

Because of this, many players are forced to look for alternative ways to make money on the side. Many of these players try streaming and charging for paid coaching, but some players also turn to boosting services to supplement their income – even though this technically breaks Valve’s rules. It’s also very unfortunate, but there are several cases of players even falling into match-fixing due to financial pressure and a lack of stable income. 

Is Becoming a Pro Player Realistic?

At this point, you should have a clear idea of how much Dota 2 players actually make at different levels of the scene. Sure, you can see players like N0tail living in his multi-million dollar mansion and assume professional Dota is filled with money, but the reality is that this represents the top 0.001% of players. 

Even if you’re mechanically gifted and skilled enough to reach the top 10 of your regional leaderboards, there’s still no guarantee you’ll make it as a full-time professional. Becoming a successful player requires you to play the game 12 hours a day, every day, for multiple years.

Players in Tier 1 also don’t have the best job security. There’s always that looming thought in your head that you might get kicked from your team when a better player shows up. So, there’s a lot to consider before dropping out of college to pursue a career in professional gaming!