The 10 highest-paid professional gamers in the world

Team Newbee

Wikimedia Commons/Dota 2 The International

There are several members of team Newbee (a “Dota 2″ team that emerged in 2014) in the top 10.

It may sound too good to be true, but people actually do play video games for a living. And they make an absolute killing.

e-Sports Earnings has ranked the 100 players with the highest overall earnings from competitive gaming.

Over 100 gamers have earned more than $250,000 in prize money alone, without counting the sponsorship deals and income that many of these players receive from streaming their practice games on services like Twitch. 

But they pale in comparison to the top 10 players, who have earned more than $10 million for their gaming prowess alone.

Karyne Levy and Kyle Russell contributed to an earlier version of this story.

10. Zhang “Mu” Pang — $1,193,811.11 from 37 tournaments

China’s Zhang Mu Pang plays Valve’s “Dota 2,” which started out as a battle arena “Warcraft” mod called “Defense of the Ancients.” He also used to play “DotA: Allstars.”

9. Wang ‘SanSheng’ Zhaohui — $1,205,274.33 from 45 tournaments

 Zhaohui is another Chinese “Dota 2″ player who used to play “DotA: Allstars.” He was much more successful last year, bringing in $1,112,280.99 to this year’s $377,286 in winnings.

 

8. Jiao ‘Banana’ Wang — $1,211,250.16 from 42 tournaments

Operating under the Player ID “Banana,” China’s Jiao only made around $25,000 from five tournaments in 2015 so far, but won $1,112,280 last year. He plays “Dota 2,” and used to play “DotA: Allstars.”

7. Chen ‘Hao’ Zhihao — $1,562,946.23 from 47 tournaments

China’s Chen used to be a “DotA: Allstars” player, and now plays Dota 2 for team Newbee. According to his bio, he has been nicknamed General Hao by the Chinese community, is known to be one of the most aggressive players in the scene.

6. Sumail Hassan — $1,640,777.34 from 8 tournaments

Hassan is a Pakistani “Dota 2″ player, and only started playing professionally this year at just 15. Now 16, he’s already won three tournaments. 

 

5. Zhang “xioa8″ Ning — $1,662,202.73 from 44 tournaments

Ning captains team Newbee, which won the “Dota 2″ TI4 Grand Finals in Seattle last year. His team includes Zhang “Mu” Pang, Wang “SanSheng” Zhaohui, Jiao “Banana” Wang and Chen “Hao” Zhihao. 

4. Clinton “Fear” Loomis — $1,735,983.84 from 44 tournaments

American gamer Loomis plays “Dota 2″ on the Evil Geniuses team, and made $1,326,932.14 from this year’s The International — the biggest “Dota 2″ tournament in the world.

 

3. Kurtis “Aui_2000″ Ling — $1,881,147.04 from 47 tournaments.

Ling is a Canadian “Dota 2″ player. At just 22, he’s the second youngest in e-Sports earning’s top ten.

 

2. Peter “ppd” Dager — $1,961,183.29 from 33 tournaments.

Now another “Dota 2 player,” American gamer Dager used to play “Heroes of Newerth,” which was originally developed by S2 Games. 

1. Saahil “UNIVeRsE” Arora — $1,964,038.64 from 39 tournaments.

Arora is an American “Dota 2″ player who came first with Loomis and the Evil Geniuses this year in The International 2015. He took home a whopping $1,326,932.14 from the tournament.

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