How Much Do Professional CS:GO/CS2 Players Earn?

Then, of course, there’s the kudos attached to being a professional gamer. The cheers and whoops as you win yet another game – and the smile on your face when you see the prize money won drop into your account.

So, with all that being said, let’s see – exactly how much do CS:GO pros make? Which players earn the biggest salaries – and who’s won the most prize money?

When it comes to the life… and earnings of professional CS:GO players, surprisingly enough, prize money isn’t actually the main source of their income. Unlike the renowned Dota 2, with its world-famous prestigious tournament, The International, CS Championships such as the Intel Extreme Masters offer pretty impressive payouts – but not the astronomical amounts of prize money that you might expect.

For example, the winner of the BLAST.tv Paris Major will earn around half a million dollars from the prize pool. Then, of course, you have to take into account that this sum then has to be divided among the five players in the team – as well as the coaches, managers, and organizations who also like to take their share. It’s not only player winnings – the money goes to everyone involved in the team.

Then, you have to factor in taxes, which reduces the final amount the player gets even more. So even if the team did win the $500,000, the players would actually walk away with a lot less than you’d think, making it less significant, especially in modern Western countries.

Fortunately, prize winnings aren’t the only source of income for esports athletes. There are also player salaries to take into consideration – which is based on the player’s expertise and team tier, as well as various other media-related activities – such as content creation, streaming and various marketing collaborations… which can make up a significant portion of their overall income.

While most of this data isn’t actually available for public consumption online, there are ways in which we can guesstimate the approximate earnings of some of the top-end CS:GO players based on the information we do have available:

Essentially, there are four main revenue streams:

1. Prize money
2. Paycheck/Salary
3. Streams
4. Advertising

So, let’s be honest: a professional CS GO player at the top of his game can earn some serious dollars.

So, if we were to look at the highest-earning CS players in terms of prize winnings – here are those who stand out.

Out of all the revenue streams, this one is the easiest and most straightforward to calculate. It’s easy to access clear statistics and information on prize money before the various deductions are made. Indeed, there’s a specialized website called Esports Earnings which keeps track of prize money from various esports tournaments, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive if you want to take a look to see how the players and teams are doing.

To get the figures, you can calculate the total amount of money a player earns by using a pretty straightforward formula: all the prize money they win from their tournaments divided by five (the total number of players in the team) and then totalled.

The leader of the top pro players… and the only player that has managed to hit the two-million mark thus far, is Peter “Dupreeh” Rasmussen. He is essentially the highest-earning player in terms of CS prize money. Given that he is the only player who has competed in all Majors, that shouldn’t really come as too much of a surprise.

Unsurprisingly, three of his teammates from the golden era of Astralis have also made the top five prize money winners – along with s1mple – who many claim could have a good case to be labelled the greatest player in CS

Top 5 Players in CS by Prize Money Earned

• Dupreeh: $2.044m
• XYP9X: $1.994m
• DEV1CE: $1.943m
• GLA1VE: $1.846m
• S1MPLE: $1.710m

Interestingly enough, there are two players who have won the Intel Grand Slam who have made the list of the top ten players for prize money. However, Twistzz – a player who has won it twice in two different teams sits in ninth place. At just 23 years old, he is way up there very early… right at the start of his career – and this Canadian could well make it to the top at some point!

Then we have to look at the players who earn the most in terms of salary. Well, like many people’s professions, lots of players aren’t open about how much they earn – and the salaries are often kept secret. However, they tend to depend on such things like media appeal, skill level and other external factors. However, the organization also plays a big role – and teams aren’t as prepared to spend so much nowadays.

According to sources, Niko and S1mple take home about $50,000 per month, and around ten other players earn more than $40,000. Fer has claimed that at the peak of his career, he earned around $43,000 per month and said that, on average, the wages of Tier 1 teams sat at around $30,000. Apparently, KRIMZ, the captain of Fnatic, earns about $40,000 per month.

The 5 Biggest Earning Players

1. Niko and S1mple: $50,000 p/m
2. Zywoo: $45,000 p/m
3. Fer: $43,000 p/m
4. Krimz: $40,000

However, how completely accurate this information is is questionable. That’s the closest we can guess, though. However, the exact figures aren’t exact, and much of the information we have is simply based on rumours and crazy keyboard tilts!

Another factor worth noting is the evaluation of CS:GO players transfer fees by the Esports Transfers project. The transfer fees are normally directly proportional to a players’ income – and although the specific numbers may be questionable, it can give us an idea of who earns the most.

Another one of the various factors that part of players’ earnings comes from stickers. Players’ autographs, especially when they have been creatively made, can generate a surprising amount of money. For example, at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, the players went all out – but they can be found in all the various tournaments – the PGL Major Stockholm and more.

But how much do professional CS GO players actually get from these stickers? Let’s start with an official figure: for two Majors – the PGL Major Stockholm and Antwerp, the community supported their favorite teams and players with over $70 million. With 24 teams and 120 players participating in each Major, you can roughly calculate the earnings for yourself.

Then, there are two other pieces of information here to consider. Firstly, former HellRaisers CEO Alexey Slabukhin has told sources that teams can earn around $150,000 to $300,000 from stickers from one single Major, with just a small portion of that going to the players. Secondly, Kenny “kennyS” Schrub mentioned that a sticker could potentially bring a player around $150,000 if they played in the early stages… and up to no less than a million dollars if they are in the team that wins the tournament!

Whilst these again are guesstimations and not necessarily accurate – they can still give us some idea of their values.

Let’s not forget, many a CS:GO player will often post videos of their gameplay – and stream their games to their captive audience. They will also have plenty of followers as a result… which makes them great for advertising.

Despite streaming and advertising being two very different activities, they can both have a significant impact on a player’s media presence and income. The more popular a player is, the more they can earn through media-related activities. Companies are often looking for long-term partnerships, making players ambassadors for their brands. In other instances, companies prefer shorter, smaller interactions by giving away items.

In many instances, pro gamers can become ‘CS influencers’. The top players will be given various devices for free, the only thing they need to do is to post about them on their social media. Brands sometimes even give players cool – and potentially valuable skins or offer discounts on purchases.

The highest-earning esports players can earn massive amounts of money from various factors – including salaries, prize money, stickers, streaming and advertising. This financial success means that they always have plenty of money to throw around… in and out of the game. That’s why they usually have the best CS skins and the best stickers – and stand out from the rest.

While the top CS players can earn up to fifty thousand dollars a month, this figure might increase even more in the future… similar to trends in some of the biggest major league sports. However, there’s the chance it could also remain stable (or even drop a bit) due to the recent slowdown in esports growth.

As you can see – those at the top of the table really can make a big-paying career out of something they love doing!

What is the Average Monthly Salary for Professional CS:GO Players?

The top CSGO players can earn between $30,000 to $50,000 per month. Big-name players like s1mple and NiKo have been said to earn about $50,000 monthly.

Apart from Salaries, How Else Do CS:GO Players Earn Money

Apart from their monthly salaries, players can also earn from prize money, content creation and streaming, sponsorship deals, advertising and sticker sales.

How Much Can a CS:GO Player Earn from Prize Money?

Tournament prize money varies from event to event – but winning one of the major tournaments can be a big earner. However, this prize will then need to be divided among team members and staff.

How Much Can Players Earn From Stickers?

Players can earn a lot from stickers. For example, if they play in a major tournament, they could earn around $150,000, and if they are part of the winning team, they could earn up to a million dollars.

Can Players Earn Much from Sponsorships and Endorsements?

Yes, sponsorships and endorsements can be very big earners – with some brands offering massively lucrative deals and free products to the most popular players.