Top 10 Richest Pro Gamers in the World

Saahil Arora, aka Universe, is perhaps best known for the role he played in helping the Evil Geniuses win The International 2015. The victory saw the Evil Geniuses squad take home a grand prize of $6.6 million, and Arora’s key move in the final has since become his defining moment as a pro gamer. The win, along with 9th and 3rd place finishes at The International 2013 and 2014 as a member of both Team Dignitas and the Evil Geniuses, has made Saahil Arora one of gaming’s richest and most recognizable individuals, with earnings of approximately $3 million.

Jesse Vainikka is a 27-year-old Finnish gamer who goes by the alias JerAx. He’s best known for playing and dominating Heroes of Newerth and later Dota 2; the latter of which he picked up after a compulsory stint in the Finnish navy. Vainikka began his career as a member of Team Liquid, helping them secure a first-place finish at EPICENTER 2016 and a 2nd place finish at The Manila Major that same year. In 2016 Vainikka left Team Liquid to join rivals OG and has since managed to help them take down million-dollar pots at The Boston Major 2016 and The Kiev Major 2017, as well as a staggering $11.23 million prize at The International 2018. So what’s this slick fingered Fin worth? A cool $3.3 million.

Similar to Jesse Vainikka, Peter Dager, aka ppd, kicked off his esports career playing Heroes of Newerth before switching to Dota 2 in 2013. Since then he’s been a part of a handful of championship squads. Between September 2014 and August 2015 he helped Evil Geniuses win five different tournaments, including the Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015 and The International 2015; the latter of which came with a grand prize of $6.6 million. Dager retired in 2016 to become the CEO of Evil Geniuses but has since returned to competitive gaming as a member of Ninjas in Pyjamas. He is reportedly worth $2.9 million.

Lebanese export Maroun Merhej solidified himself as one of the world’s top pro gamers when he achieved Dota 2’s top MMR in all of Europe. Already a legend in his home country, Merhej, aka GH, was now on the radar of some of pro gaming’s top teams; and after helping Team Liquid win DreamLeague Season 6, he officially signed with the squad. He’s since become one of gaming’s most successful players, helping Team Liquid take down a massive $10 million prize at The International 2017, as well as a 4th place finish the following year. To date GH has amassed a net worth of more than $3.1 million.

One of the youngest gamers on our list also happens to be one of the richest. This can be attributed to his continued success as a member of Evil Geniuses, not to mention the fact that he started playing Dota before turning 9. Born in Pakistan but raised in the US, SumaiL – as he is more widely known – started blowing minds at 15, when he helped Evil Geniuses win the Dota 2 Asia Championships. Since then he’s accrued an impressive list of victories, including a 1st place finish at The International 2015, as well as 3rd place finishes at The International 2016 and 2018 respectively. In 2015 he became the youngest gamer to make $1 million and was later named one of Time Magazine’s most influential teens. He’s currently worth about $3.3 million.

This Bulgarian gamer turned pro in 2014 and has since managed to accrue considerable wealth as a member of multiple big-name squads; most notably Basically Unknown and Team Liquid. Ivanov, who goes by the alias MinD_ContRoL, was instrumental in helping Team Liquid secure a first-place victory at The International 2017, which came with a purse of $10.8 million. Ivanov followed that up with a 4th place finish at The International 2018, which only earned the squad a $1.7 million payday. Ivanov is currently worth about $3.5 million, with his Dota 2 skills continuing to serve as his primary source of income.

The second Fin to crack our list, Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen has, you guessed it, made a ton of money playing Dota 2 professionally. Since turning pro in 2014, Urpalainen has been a part of more than 20 championship winning teams, allowing him to amass a personal wealth of $3.5 million. A member of the legendary five-man Team Liquid roster that dominated the Dota 2 scene between 2015 and 2019 with a mind boggling 68%-win rate, Urpalainen jumped ship for Chaos Esports Club in May of 2019. We can’t wait to see what he accomplishes with his new squad in the upcoming playoffs.

Amer al-Barkawi, or Miracle- for short, is a, wait for it…Dota 2 player! Care to guess which team he plays for? If you said Team Liquid, congratulations, you’ve been paying attention! Still just 22, which we suppose is prime for an esports player, Miracle- has managed to rack up some seriously impressive numbers. Currently worth more than $3.7 million, Miracle- has been at the center of some of professional gaming’s biggest moments; including multiple top 5 EPICENTER finishes and a 1st place, $10,862,700, 3-0 sweep of team Newbee in the Grand Finals of The International 2017.

Like many other professional gamers of his generation, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein transitioned from Heroes of Newerth to Dota 2 in 2012; when the former began to experience a decline in popularity. Sundstein would go on to serve as both a player and coach and in 2015 founded OG. The Dane would serve as OG’s Team Captain throughout its epic run at The International 2018, which culminated in one of pro gaming’s most improbable victories. In the process, Sundstein became the first Danish esports player to win the event. A ridiculous run of success that started in 2014 and continues to this day has made Sundstein one of gaming’s richest and most respected players. He is currently worth approximately $3.75 million.

There’s no debate when it comes to which esports player has accumulated the most personal wealth since turning pro. The story goes that a physical impairment in Kuro Takhasomi youth led to him spending countless hours at home playing video games. As such, it would appear that Takhasomi, aka KuroKy, was born to be a gamer. Despite still being in his late-20s, Takhasomi is considered an esports legend, and is one of only 3 people to have participated in every International tournament since its inception in 2011. A win at The International 2017 cemented his spot on esports’ Mount Rushmore, and the Team Liquid captain shows no signs of slowing down. With a net worth of approximately $4.2 million, Kuro Takhasomi is far and away the richest professional gamer.