According to a World Economic Forum estimate, the esports industry will soon exceed $1 billion in revenue.
Esports events already attract hundreds of millions of viewers annually.
And all those eyes are on the gamers competing in high-stakes matches.
Fans watch the opening ceremony of the League of Legends World Championship Final in Paris on May 11, 2014. Jacques Brinon/Associated Press
But First, What Are Esports?
Simply put, esports are video game competitions with highly skilled players, aka athletes.
But the video games themselves dont necessarily have anything to do with traditional sports.
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These games are typically played on the PC and are team-based.
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But MOBA tournaments are more popular.
Hundreds of millions of worldwide fans watch them, rivaling the viewership of real-life sporting events.
Event viewership isnt the only thing rivaling the traditional sports industry.
Esports earnings for top gamers are also skyrocketing.
Esports Earnings
The nature of the game whether its solo or team-based affects earnings.
Plus, many esports teams include managers and coaches who take a cut of the prize money.
The upcoming 2019 World Cup is expected to have a larger prize pool.
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (EA) specializes in video games based on real sports.
They develop and publish FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC and several others.
Their portfolio also includes other non-sports games such as the Battlefield series.
Sports games typically are played one-on-one, so he pocketed those earnings entirely.
(He also talked to The Penny Hoarder about his big win and video game tournaments in general.)
Mosaad Msdossary Aldossary took home the 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup and $250,000.
Yep, you read that figure right.
They must scavenge equipment to eliminate the other 99 players.
The last one standing wins.
The Fortnite World Cup is a 10-week-long competition that guarantees a minimum of $50,000 to each contestant.
Riot Games
Riot Games hosts some of the most widely watched esports events in the world.
The ultimate event, theLeague of Legends World Championship, is hosted in a different city each year.
(It sold out Chinas Olympic stadium for the League of Legends championships in 2017.)
League of Legends is a five-on-five computer MOBA game, where two teams plot to destroy their opponents base.
The prize pool of $6.45 million was spread among 24 teams.
The winning team, Invictus Gaming, earned a $2.4-million piece of the pie.
The mini-game was called Defense of the Ancients (DOTA).
Since the original game was user-generated, no one could lay legal claim to the concept.
Many spin offs ensued.
In 2018, theDOTA 2 Internationalshad a $25 million prize pool.
The winning team, Team OG, brought home more than $11 million.
Millions of esports fans tune in to watch their favorite gamers play in real time through screen-sharing software.
They can even message the streamers as theyre playing, often sending jokes or kudos.
Streamers monetize all the views through partnership deals with video-game related products.
Twitch also allows viewers to donate directly to the streamer.
Together, the platform brings a steadier source of income for esports athletes outside the sporadic payouts of tournaments.
Some esports pros are employed by the video-game publishers directly.
Riot Gamess esports commissioner Chris Greeley said Riot employs their own professional gamers, about 50 in total.
Their average salary: $300,000, not including partnerships or revenue from Twitch streaming.
Even the lowest-paid pros on Riots team make a comfortable amount.
Minimum for our pro level is 75 grand, he says.
Thats not a bad salary at 18.
Adam Hardy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
He specializes in ways to make money that dont involve stuffy corporate offices.
Read his latest articles here, or say hi on Twitter@hardyjournalism.
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