We truly live in the age of esports. Over 200 million people around the world now consider themselves to be esports enthusiasts and that means that they are part of an absolutely huge industry. Certain games have massive tournaments now with people coming from all over the world to watch and to compete. The top prizes can run well into the millions of dollars.

Whether you are considering esports gaming as a career and want to know what those at the very pinnacle are earning or you’re just fascinated by this growing industry, we have five of the highest earning esports athletes listed in this post for you.

“Sneyking” – Jingjun Wu 

Jingjun Sneyking Wu has been playing Dota for a long time and was a member of Team Dignitas before he really hit the big time in 2022. He was a founding member of a team called PotM Bottom and when playing in 2012 and 2013, would regularly miss out on prize money. At The International in 2013, his team only finished in the lower positions and did not manage to win anything.

However, he is one of the highest earners today due to the fact that in 2022 he finally won The International with his team, Tundra. In 2022, the Tundra esports team managed the win by beating Team Secret 3-0, having not lost any series in the entire main event.

Oliver ”Skiter” Lepko

Skiter is a young Slovakian player of Dota 2 who joins Sneyking in the fact that he has made the big bucks playing in the Tundra esports team. Skiter has spent time in Eastern Europe (for Team Spirit), South America (with Infamous) and North America (for Ninjas in Pyjamas) before becoming most successful working with Tundra esports. He was in the top three at the Stockholm Major last year and lifted the Aegis of Champions. 

He has continued to win tournaments with Tundra in 2023, thanking the fans in a recent post on Twitter: “crazy finals but we secured the W. Thanks to all the fans cheering for us”.

“Saksa”

Saksa’s story is enough to inspire many gamers in the art of perseverance or just to start using a game recording app to share their gameplay. Saksa qualified for The International back in 2016 and finished runner up with Wings Gaming. However, he struggled to find a team with his Dota 2 exploits until he started with Ninjas in Pyjamas in 2018. He did win some minors before joining OG, and then got kicked out of the team.

Saksa came back, though, with Tundra esports, in a somewhat controversial move. He won the Aegis at The International along with his Tundra teammates, in this incredibly lucrative tournament. 

As a fun fact, at 6 ft 8 inches tall, he is the tallest esports pro in the world. 

“Nine” – Leon Kirilin

Leon was a pubstar and became known as a pro back in 2017 to 2018 when he was playing for Team Spirit alongside Oliver, who he would eventually play with at Tundra, the team that has seen his winnings go through the roof. 

Nine has become known for using heroes like Spirit Breaker and Keeper of the Light in new and interesting ways. Nine has been in North America for the last few years.

Neta “33” Shapira

Yes, this completes the full clean sweep of players who are Tundra esports athletes that are among the biggest winners in recent times.

Tundra’s huge win in 2022 has put players like Shapira, the Israeli youngster, into the leagues of the absolute biggest hitters.

Between 2015 and 2017, 33 had played for a lot of different teams but seemed a mainstay of The International, where he competed with Planet Dog as well as Ninjas in Pyjamas. Eventually, with the win in 2022, he would become the very first esports athlete from Israel to win the prestigious tournament.

He’s known in the industry for using Beastmaster and having amazing management skills. 

Summary

You can see from this list that The International is one of the main ways in which people make a lot of money out of esports, and it is a huge event, with millions of dollars in winnings given in 2022 to the winners, Tundra, who make up this whole list.

There are plenty of chances for these guys to get overtaken in 2023, with some huge tournaments to follow and plenty of rising esports athletes and stars hoping to take their titles.