The richest Dota 2 players: who makes the top 10

The question of how much Dota 2 players earn has always been of interest to many fans and inspired beginner esportsmen. That is why we at CyberScore decided not only to tell you the numbers, but also to briefly tell you about each of the ten most successful players, about how their careers went.

1. Johan «N0tail» Sundstein (age 28, $7,184,163, OG)

Johan Sundstein is the absolute leader in career earnings. The Dane, known by the nickname N0tail, is the captain of OG, one of the best teams in the world, which began to make waves in the professional Dota 2 scene immediately after its founding in 2015. Over 13 years in esports, Sundstein has grown richer by more than $7 million and earned the title of veteran and legend of the game.

2. Jesse «JerAx» Vainikka (age 29, $6,486,948, Evil Geniuses)

Like N0tail, Jesse Vainikka achieved the main success in OG, and the pinnacle of his career was the victory at The International 2019. JerAx made a significant contribution to the success of OG in the final tournament, doing an excellent job as a support. After that, in 2020, he announced his retirement from esports, but in 2022 he decided to return to the professional scene and signed a contract with Evil Geniuses.

3. Anatan «ana» Pham (age 22, $6,004,411, retired)

Third place in the ranking of the richest Dota 2 players goes to Anatan Pham, who earned just over $6 million. Individual achievements were never a priority for the Australian. His main focus was the success of his teams in major tournaments and the opportunity to compete for high prize money. To become a professional Ana had to drop out of school and move to Shanghai at the age of 16 to play for Invictus Gaming. In 2016, he joined OG, for which he played until the end of his career in 2021.

4. Sebastien «Ceb» Debs (age 29, $5,773,909, retired)

Sebastien Debs started his professional career in 2011 with Team Shakira. The success of the team allowed Ceb to move to mTw and to go to The International 2012 a year later. After the failure at TI 2, the Frenchman decided to return to his roots and formed Team Shakira again. Debs took several breaks from his playing career, worked as a coach and analyst, and joined OG in 2016. He helped the team to make history after winning The International for two years in a row – in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, Ceb retired from the professional Dota 2 scene.

5. Topias «Topson» Taavitsainen (age 24, $5,690,417, OG)

Another representative of OG, Topias Taavitsainen, rounds out the top five richest players. The Finnish esportsman has been into Dota 2 since the age of 8, studied to be a chef, but decided to give up this activity for the sake of his favorite game. Topson started his professional career in 2017 with SFTe-sports before moving to OG in 2018. In 2021 Taavitsainen decided to take a break from Dota 2.

6. Kuro «KuroKy» Takhasomi (age 29, $5,230,947, Nigma Galaxy)

The name Kuro Takhasomi has long been known in the world of Dota 2. The German was born and raised in Berlin. As a child, KuroKy experienced problems with his legs, so his movement was limited. That’s how he got into video games. Takhasomi started his career on the professional Dota 2 scene in 2011 as a member of GosuGamers.net. After this he played for such teams as Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere (NaVi), Team Secret, Team Liquid, etc. The highlight of KuroKy’s career was Liquid’s victory at The International 2017.

7. Amer «Miracle-» Al-Barkawi (age 24, $4,833,885, Nigma Galaxy)

Our next hero made his professional debut in 2015 with the Balkan Bears. Amer al-Barkawi failed to show his best qualities there, so he left the team after four months. Miracle- became a free agent and started working on increasing his MMR. After some time, he topped the world rankings and received an invitation to (monkey) Business from Johan «N0tail» Sundstein. Later the team began to perform under OG tag. In 2016, the Jordanian player moved to Team Liquid and won The International 2017. Since 2019, Al-Barkawi has been playing for Nigma Galaxy.

8. Ivan «MinD_ContRoL» Ivanov (age 27, $4,614,959, Nigma Galaxy)

Another winner of The International 2017 as part of Team Liquid, Ivan Ivanov, now plays for Nigma Galaxy. The Bulgarian esportsman followed his dream to become Dota 2 professional, despite the conflicts with his parents. They believed that their son was just wasting his time by playing video games. In 2015, MinD_ContRoL received an invitation to 5Jungz. Thanks to the victories in online tournaments and qualifiers, the team quickly made a name for itself, signed a contract with Team Liquid, and then went on to worldwide success.

9. Lasse «MATUMBAMAN» Urpalainen (age 27, $4,526,049, Team Liquid)

The name of Lasse Urpalainen became known to Dota 2 fans after the Finn’s brilliant performance at the Assembly Summer 2014 LAN tournament as part of Veni, Vidi, Vici. In 2015, MATUMBAMAN joined 5Jungz and went on to win TI 7 with Team Liquid. After that, Urpalainen briefly played for Team Secret before returning to Liquid in the fall of 2021.

10. Maroun «GH» Merhej (age 26, $4,229,254, Nigma Galaxy)

The Lebanese esportsman is another winner of The International 2017 as part of Team Liquid. He drew attention to himself in 2014, while representing Wired Gaming and E-LAB. In January of 2017 he joined Liquid. In 2019, GH, along with KuroKy, Miracle-, and MinD_ContRoL, created their own organization – Nigma Galaxy.