Cover-Credits:
While The International 11 (TI11) did not break esports prize money records like the previous 10 editions of the tournament, it did offer Tundra Esports a fantastic amount of $8,518,822 USD as the champions. Tundra's captain Wu "Sneyking" Jingjun revealed during a Twitch livestream that he earned less than $1 Million from the prize money. As a response to a Reddit thread that began to involve community speculations, Sneyking took to Twitter, clarifying that while it appears that each of the five players should receive 20% of the total prize money case, this actually isn't the case because there are certain reductions involved. He acknowledged, however, that it was still a "life-changing" amount.
Sneyking says he earned less than $1 Million from TI11
After being asked about the prize money he earned at Dota 2's biggest tournament of the year, Sneyking opted not to give the exact amount, however he did give a range.
“I won’t say in exact figures but less than a Million. So, it’s gonna be a lot of things taking away from a TI win. So, the TI win looks nice but on paper, it’s so many fees and taxes and everything, you don’t end up with that much.”
With a Reddit thread arising on this same issue and many interpreting this clip as implying that he did not consider this amount to be "enough, Sneyking had to explain his position in a series of tweets.
In theory, Sneyking should receive $1.5 Million, which is close to 20% of Tundra's prize money at TI11, but there are first cuts to internal stakeholders followed by reductions in the form of tax.
His conclusion was that the money was very significant, but still a lot less and rather inflated than many in the community had expected.
With a total career earnings of approximately $2,260,243, Sneyking is the 38th richest esports player in the world, according to Esports Earnings.
The player has been working extremely hard for a decade, having played for a bunch of teams, and the victory at TI11 was the culmination of his efforts, accounting for about 80% of his total earnings. Since these figures are likely not inclusive of the cuts that Sneyking mentioned, the actual amount that comes in will be lower, however.
A recent press conference also revealed what Tundra's players are planning on doing with their prize money. Their answers showed that they primarily wanted an apartment or to invest. As his grandparents are getting older, Sneyking intends to buy them a new house.
Tundra is currently on break and will return to action in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2022-23. The team will be one of the few teams from TI11 that will not see any roster changes.
