Story By: Jake Stoup

Esports is growing increasingly every day with the estimated value of the esports industry to be around $1 billion dollars. With the growth of esports, and the amount of money you can win it. It can leave those are interested wondering which games are the highest paying. Each game value is based off of official tournaments and found on the website esports earnings

No. 5 Arena of Valor ($98,746,138) 

Arena of Valor red bull image

At No. 5 it is Arena of Valor a 5v5 Multiplayer online battle arena. In its history, Arena of Valor has had 179 tournaments played and over 2,231 pro players. The first recorded tournament of Arena of Valor was played on July. 24th, 2016 with the most recent game being played on Sept. 15th,2024. The highest-paid pro player in this game is a man named Luo Siyuan aka HuaHai who was paid $1.8 million during his time as a pro player.

No.4 League of Legends ($115,945,456)

League of legends cover art

At No. 4 is League Of Legends, a 5v5 real-time strategy game. League of Legends has had 3006 pro tournaments played with 9,599 pro players. The first recorded League of Legends tournament played was on Sept. 5th, 2010 and the most recent tournament was Nov 2. 2024. League of Legends’ highest-played player is Lee Sang Hyeok, AKA Faker, earning $1.8 million, which is $1 million more than the second highest paid League pro.

No. 3 Counter-Strike Global Offensive ($162,636,006)

Counter strike steam cover page

At No. 3 we have Counter-Strike Global Offensive, a 5v5 competitive first-person shooter. CS-GO  has had 7076 tournaments played with 16,536 pro players. The first CS-GO tournament was played on March. 13. 2012 with the most recent being Oct. 31 2023. CS-GO has since been changed to Counter-strike. The highest-paid pro-CS-GO player is Peter Rasmussen, AKA dupreeh, making $2.1 million.

No. 2 Fortnite ($191,200,411)

Epic games store page

I know you were wondering where it would be but at No. 2 is Fortnite a 100-player battle royal and one of the most popular games out right now. Fortnite has had 2,299 tournaments played with over 9,560 pro players. The first Pro Fortnite tournament was played on Feb. 17 2018, with the most recent being played on Oct. 31 2024. The highest paid player is Kyle Giersdorf, AKA Bugha who has won $3.7 million, and similar to the league, that is $1 million more than the second most-paid player. 

No. 1 Dota 2 ($363,081,361)

Dota 2 steam cover page

At the No. 1 spot is Dota 2 a 5v5 team clash real-time strategy game. Dota 2 is the No. 1 by a long shot with a lead of 100 million dollars over the second game. Dota 2 has had 1948 tournaments with 4,996 pro players. Dota 2’s first tournament was Aug 17th, 2011 with the most recent being Nov. 10th 2024. Dota 2 No. 1 most-paid player is Johan Sundstein who has won $7.1 million. Dota 2’s highest paid pro is also the No. 1 most payed esports player in history. Dota 2 also has the all the way to top 20 highest paid pros. Brandon Beal a professor at Montevallo who is a fan of Dota 2 and also played it for many years who just loves the game.

“I love Dota 2 so maybe it was popular and someway because it such a good game and its great to play but of course most esports are that way if you are into that”

Brendan Beal