No. These include a womans team they added in September 2012. 7. However, much like G2, Liquid has diversified its team portfolio and brings in money from multiple titles. They were smart. The year 2020 wasnt kind to esports competition as many events were canceled or postponed due to health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a new report from Forbes, the top 10 most valuable esports companies are worth a combined $2.4 billion, with some truly eyebrow-raising figures for teams like TSM, Cloud9 and. Team Secret, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, was able to put together a great year as far as Dota 2 was concerned taking home $1.017M playing in 12 events that survived the pandemic. LGD Gaming is a Chinese multi-gaming team sponsored by Guizhou Laogandie Food. By Mike Ozanian, Christina Settimi and Matt Perez. The team won the Dota Asia Championships a month later. Maroun "GH" Merhej $4.1 Million. The way that teams in North America succeed is different from the way that teams succeed in Asia, says Jason Chung, the executive director of esports at the University of New Haven. The organization also brought home more than $25K from Fortnite and $4.6K in Electronic Arts Apex Legends. With a net worth of $1.7 billion, esports is a small part of his portfolio, but one with a lot of space to grow. Cover image by Woohae Cho. Indeed the most lucrative game by far is Dota, and variations thereof. Red Bull Top Projects and E-sports players The game launch event will begin with an insightful talk featuring industry experts from the gaming world. The organization also brought home more than $25K from, brought home the bulk of its 2020 prize money from. In August, the company acquired Omnia Media and expanded its reach to a total of 300 million gamers monthly, making it the largest gaming media platform in North America. That same month the revenue of FaZe Clan was estimated $40 million. G2 could be positioned for a big payday in 2021 with any sort of return to esports normalcy. Of all the biggest eSports organizations, SoloMid and Cloud9 are the most valuable. Sponsored teams make ads, wear sponsored merch, and share affiliate links with their followers. . This organizations prize pool money is directly tied to the. For the first time since 2014, Fnatic comes in under the $1M mark, through no real fault of its own, riding its CS:GO team and the $321K it made in 2020 to the No. T1 - $150 million Record world champion in LoL and with Faker they got a legendary esports player in their squad. is an esport that is looking to scale, having added four teams for a total of 20 that will now be competing in the Six Invitational 2021, which Spacestation will obviously be a part of. What you have seen in the last year is other esports companies are catching on to what has been our philosophy from Day 1, which is to explore the outer reaches of what gaming can be, says FaZe Clans CEO, Lee Trink. Here are some of the richest professional gamers in the world. 17 * 4 = 68. WSCs highlight automation improved the speed of ESPNs content creation. Teams are also constrained in how they can make their money because they dont own the intellectual property of the games they compete inthey cant, for example, sell a special gun in Call of Duty without the consent of the games publisher, Activision Blizzard. Winning competitions is arguably the most straightforward way to make money in eSports. Sponsorships help too. Number one on our list of best esports teams is Team Liquid. What is the best eSports team. If your goal is just to be the Dallas Cowboys and just operate in competitive gaming, that is cool, but its a long way off, says Andy Miller, CEO of NRG and co-owner of the NBAs Sacramento Kings. An eSport player salary usually ranges from 1.000 to 5.000 a month, with some highly skilled players earning a salary of a stunning 50.000 a month. Thus revenue and projections could be slashed and the high valuations could tumble. oc. The player has won over 36 different tournaments and counted as one of the three players in the world to compete in every international championship. Huge prize pools in this industry are common. Intel 4. Once again, TSM, owned by Andy Dinh, leads the way, rising 32% to $540 million. If you want to succeed in Asia, you have to be the bestits all about competition. That certainly helps explain the success of Seoul-based T1. We have previously discussed the rise of eSports influence on brands. But media rights are growing the fastest and are projected to be more than $320 million by 2021, making it the second-biggest source of revenue behind sponsorships. Player costs typically eat up half of a companys operating budget. 80 Pine Street, Suite 3202 New York, NY 10005, Start and end your day with FOS in your inbox. Topping the list: Los Angeles-based TSM (formerly Team SoloMid), with a value of $410 million. Big companies approach teams with bids and contracts when they gain notoriety for their skills and a considerable fan base. Riot Games and its League of Legends World Championship along with Activision Blizzards Overwatch and Call of Duty League Championships were the big money drivers in 2020 and did esports a great service by finding ways to keep the esports competitive scene moving. He is also one of the most popular streamers among the fans. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. In other words, the former has seen a fivefold increase in a year, the latter a three- to fourfold increase. (Joint) Team SoloMid (Valued $400 million), Florida Mayhem compete in the Overwatch League. A bit later they entered World of Warcraft and the original version of Dota. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. 2 earner last year by receiving more than $9M in prize money. The team makes an estimated $9 million per year and is valued at $185 million. almost four million concurrent viewers across Twitch and YouTube, 100 Thieves CouRage leaves Twitch to stream on YouTube, acquisition of former OpTic Gaming chief Hector H3CZ Rodriguez, About Dexerto: Editorial staff, standards and policies, We may earn an affiliate commission from links on this page. This panel discussion will cover topics such . The organization has had an occasionally bumpy experience with esports franchise model but limits its risk exposure by fielding a manageable number of teams. Lee Aik Soon/Riot Games Inc. via Getty Images, TSM has the richest sponsorship deal in esports, a ten-year, $210 million naming rights agreement with crypto exchange FTX, but its real selling point is its tech businesses: Blitz, an app that trains users in popular video games, and Dyno, which offers a moderation bot for Discord servers. It has separate teams of players playing Dota and League of Legends. In July, its London Spitfire became the first ever champion of the Overwatch league. General partners include Nike, Red Bull, HyperX. While it is typical in esports that one event, such as the Dota 2 International, is usually the cause of a teams No. And while team sponsorships can be lucrative, other revenue streams often have low margins. League Championships were the big money drivers in 2020 and did esports a great service by finding ways to keep the esports competitive scene moving. Fnatic also qualified for both Dota Majors this year and Dota's season-ending championship: The International 2022. Our company appraisals are based on the valuations that were applied during each companys most recent capital raise, comparable esports transactions and their prospects. Last month, the company opened the Castle, a funhouse, gamers version of a fraternity house and production studio to churn out digital content that can be sold to sponsors. Red Bull 2. Like traditional sports, esports provides income sources and career opportunities. Many of the top eSports players are celebrities to Millennial and Generation Y fans. The interest in eSports has hit critical mass, ensuring that there are sufficient high-paying tournaments to justify a competitive full-time lifestyle. Disney's Marvel 10. Theres not going to be one thing in gaming making you money.. Each game listed alongside a company indicates the company fields a competitive esports team in that title, apart from content streamers. This organizations prize pool money is directly tied to the Dota 2 scene and hopes to see, along with many other organizations, Valve revive the scene in 2021. There are some similarities to traditional sports leagues. And for Team Secret, Dota 2 is a staple. A single tournament can yield hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money, but almost all of it goes to the players. It became active in 2009 and became the first team to win three major tournaments in a single calendar year. It is also represented by many over 19 countries, making it one of the most diverse teams on the planet. The company,. But its bottom line is still ugly, the SPAC climate has grown more perilous, and the companys recently disclosed agreement with partner Snoop Dogg suggests it might be lowering its own valuation. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. With revenue expected to fall to $8.5 million this year, the teams value isless than half the $260 million Forbes estimated in 2019. Here we have one of the biggest esports organizations with many teams in various disciplines and players from all over the world. It plays a wider range of games than many other teams. If you are not already interested in electronic gaming, you may be surprised by just how big an industry eSports now is. They chose to build a team of good players from around the world. Natus Vincere was founded in December of 2009. Rodriguez has been able to weather the pandemic and dwindling esports prize pools by fielding multiple teams, with some not requiring a lot of overhead expenses. 6 this year. Total Prize Money Earned: $18,385,456.79. G2 secured internation LoL success at 2019s Mid-Season Invitational. The Los Angeles-based company, which is developing a lifestyle brand at the intersection of apparel, entertainment and esports, in December announced a $60 million funding round at a $460 million valuation. G2 earned $383K in League of Legends, more than $330K in CS:GO, $163K in R6, $159K in Rocket League, more than $100K in Valorant, and more in other titles. No team in Forbes ranking has appreciated more than 100 Thieves, which was fifth on the 2020 list at $190 million. Overwatch franchise valuations are $60 million to $80 million, depending on country and city. Facilities are being built where gamers can train. Teams had 3 encounters in the past, Aster won 1 times. You can start playing right now, in guest mode!10*1.70 = 17.00. Natus Vincere League the team took home a cool $900K to go along with its winnings from the various tournaments during league play. The Cowboys, owned by businessman Jerry Jones since 1989, have an estimated net worth of $5.5 billionhalf a . Team Liquid. Immortals Gaming Club (Valued $210 million)4. Dutch-founded organization and North American basedTeam Liquid take third place in the rankings, with a $320 million valuation. League. Esports companies are constantly buying and selling teams and players to compete in the best leagues and build audiences on Amazons Twitch and Alphabets YouTube. FaZes lineup includes Nickmercs, one of themost popular gamers on Twitch andhighest-paid in the industry, earning $6 million last year.