Virtus.Pro General Manager Reveals How Much Top Russian Dota 2 Players Earn

Virtus.pro's general manager, Sergey "F1y1eaf" Glamazda, in an interview with Moscow 24, revealed how much top Dota 2 players in Russia earn. A good player in Russia earns about $150k-200k USD a year, according to F1y1eaf. In addition, he mentions that prize money from Dota 2 tournaments is the major source of income for a team. According to him, players usually have a fixed salary which can increase or decrease depending on the results in these events. F1y1eaf also went on to discuss the revenue streams of esports organizations.

Virtus.pro general manager says that good Russian Dota 2 players earn $150k-200k yearly

F1y1eaf discussed the salary of top Dota 2 players on the Fanimani program on the Moscow 24 TV channel.

“He [the player] has a fixed salary - it may increase or decrease depending on the result. The team earns the most money at tournaments at the expense of prize money. [...] Good players in Russia even earn about $150-200 thousand a year.”

A Forbes Russia report from June 2020 stated the maximum monthly salary for esports players is $35,000 USD. This amounts to $420,000 USD per year. The salary is paid, however, only to a few "superstars" who exist in small numbers in the scene. At the top level, players can expect to earn $10,000 - $15,000 per month, and beginners can expect to earn $2,000 - $5,000 per month, the report had stated further. Smaller organizations pay $500 to $1,000.

F1y1eaf then described how esports organizations make money. Various esports companies earn money by taking a cut of the prize money and from sponsor money. Moreover, a significant portion of the revenue comes from in-game cosmetics like guns skins, according to F1y1eaf.

“The first is the prize money that is raffled off at tournaments. From the total prize pool - let's say a million dollars - a team takes 500 thousand, and you take 20% from it.”

There's separate sponsorship money, where sponsors pay for t-shirt placement or advertising inventory.

There are also sales from in-game items - in-game weapon stickers can cost and bring teams anywhere from $300,000 USD to several million dollars. And that's what everyone is fighting for."

Disclaimer: Quotes were Translated from Dota2.net via DeepL Translator and as such may contain grammatical errors.

Virtus.pro is a premier Russian esports organization with teams in esports games such as Dota 2, CS:GO, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, and more. In Dota 2, the organization currently has a young team that was hired in November 2020.

After earning enough points during the competitive season, the team qualified for Dota 2's biggest stage, The International 10 (TI10).