Cover-Credits:
In a recent livestream, Siddhant “SID” Joshi, manager of S8UL Esports, was chatting with his audience about the Valorant esports ecosystem in India and Southeast Asia (SEA). During the livestream, he discussed the salaries earned by Indian and SEA top-tier Valorant professional players and shed some light on the topic. He revealed that Indian Valorant professional players earn much higher salaries than SEA Valorant professional players, and only a few SEA organizations pay their players well.
SID says Indian Valorant Players earn much higher salaries than SEA players
SID revealed that top-tier SEA professional Valorant players don’t earn nearly as much as top-tier Indian players
SID stated that very few organizations in the SEA region pay well, one of them potentially being Paper Rex. “There might be one or two organizations in SEA that pay well. Maybe Paper Rex pays well; I don’t know if there is any other organization that pays well in SEA,” he said. Paper Rex is one of the most successful Valorant esports organizations in the SEA region. The organization has played in multiple Valorant Masters tournaments and even has a Top 12 finish in Valorant Champions 2022.
SID stated that top-tier professional Indian Valorant players earn salaries between INR 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh ($1200 USD to $1800) while SEA players earn a maximum of $500 to $700 which is around half what Indian players earn.
He said he believes that the Indian players are happy with their income, which is much higher than SEA players, and that this is the reason behind their persistence in sticking with the region. “That’s why, I think, Indian players get satisfied with their salaries, income from streaming, and prize money. That’s why a few Indian players stay in their comfort zone. Some players genuinely want to play at a global level, but some are happy in India with their mediocre earnings.”
Valorant esports is growing rapidly in India, with new organizations and players emerging. Recently, Global Esports became the only organization from the South Asian (SA) region to get a slot in the Valorant International League. Rushindra Sinha, founder and CEO of Global Esports, recently revealed that the minimum salary of each player in its Valorant franchise roster would be at least ₹42 lakhs per annum.
