Filipino esports has come a long way. From tournaments hosted in small cafes which paid out a minuscule amount of money, to hosting Million Dollar events in massive arenas filled with roaring crowds, the scene has only witnessed constant growth since its inception.
Several Filipino esports professionals have emerged from the shadows and are now household names after playing on some of the biggest stages that the world has to offer. As a result, they have managed to win boatloads of money and have become an inspiration for many aspiring pro players.
Below, we take a look at the 10 highest-earning Filipino esports professionals in history.
Disclaimer: We’re only considering the prize money these players have won. Most of these players have salaries and sponsorships from various companies. However, since that data isn’t public nor reliable we’ve decided to order this list only based on the prize money data from esportsearnings.com
10. Jake "Xmithie" Puchero
Image Courtesy: INVEN Esports
The only ‘non-Dota 2’ player in this list, Xmithie is a professional League of Legends player who currently plies his trade for Team Liquid in the NA LCS.
Xmithie was born and raised in the Philippines for 16 years before his family moved to USA. He was initially a Warcraft 3 Dota player. However, he quit the game and moved on to League of Legends in 2011. He started playing competitively in 2012 with mTw America and would go on to play for a number of teams including CLG, Immortals and finally Team Liquid in the following years.
He has earned a total of 282,442.60 USD over the course of his 9-year career.
9. Khim “Gabbi” Villafuerte
Copyright:: ESL | Bart Oerbekke
The star-carry of TNC Predator, Gabbi has become an integral part of the TNC machinery over the course of the last year.
Gabbi started playing Warcraft 3 Dota when he was just 7 years old. When he realised that Pro Dota was his dream career, he dropped out of his college degree and started playing professionally for Acion Arena.
He became a household name with Execration where he pulled off one of the best Puck performances we’ve ever seen and would then play for Clutch Gamers and Team Admiral before finally making a move to TNC Predator.
He has earned a total of 326,484.68 USD so far, in his short career.
8. Armel “Armel” Paul Tabios
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Image Courtesy: Epicenter
Armel is arguably the most skilled Filipino player out there. He was hand-picked by TNC Predator as their mid-player way back in 2018 to become their defacto mid player.
Before that, Armel was playing for other top-tier Filipino teams including Clutch Gamers, Team Admiral and Acion Arena. A career trajectory remarkably similar to Gabbi’s. It is perhaps this long-standing partnership that has lead to the pair becoming one of SEA’s most fearsome 1-2 duos.
Armel has earned 365,066.51 USD over the course of his career.
7. Abed “Abed” Yusop
Image Courtesy: Beyond The Summit
The only player to have achieved the distinction of reaching 10k MMR twice, Abed is considered by many as the most talented Filipino player in the world.
He is one of the only Filipino players to have played competitively in the NA region (with Digital Chaos). He is also one of the youngest players to have competed at the International, making his first appearance at the age of 15 and has competed in every single iteration of TI since then.
He currently plays in Fnatic, and rumours are that he will be moving to the NA region once again to play for Evil Geniuses.
At the time of writing, he has won 366,842.09 USD from 31 tournaments held across the world.
6. Nico “eyyou” Barcelon
Image Courtesy: Epicenter
Perhaps the most underrated player on this list, eyyou has been a permanent fixture in most championship winning Filipino rosters over the years.
He is a brilliant Dota 2 professional, who is not only well-versed in playing the game but is also a brilliant coach or an analyst. He has played in various teams across various countries in SEA including India, Malaysia and of course the Philippines.
He has won 397,072.94 USD throughout his career, the majority of which comes from his time with TNC Predator.
5. Sam “Sam_H” Enojosa Hidalgo
Image Courtesy: Starladder
A permanent fixture of TNC Predator for around 4 years, Sam_H is one of the most loyal players in Dota 2. He played 730 games for the team before he finally moved to DeToNator.
The player is definitely one of the most sought out offlaners in the Philippines after a multitude of triumphs in various tournaments across the world.
He has won 488,334.78 USD over the course of his 5-year career.
4. Marc Polo “Raven” Luis Fausto
Image Courtesy: Starladder
One of the players who put Filipino Dota 2 on the map with his reliable, yet effective carry play, Raven has simmered down over the course of the past year.
He kicked off his career when he was just 11 years old in a small cafe in the Philippines with Warcraft 3 Dota. Since then he went from strength to strength, becoming one of the best carries in the world.
As a result, he became one of the only 3 players who managed to win WESG twice. His meteoric rise has slowed down, this season. However, it won’t be long before the Filipino star will be back to the forefront of Filipino Dota 2.
Raven has managed to amass 576,393.10 USD as prize winnings over the course of his career.
3. Timothy “Tims” Randrup
Image Courtesy: Epicenter
One of the most inspirational stories we’ve ever heard. TIMS started playing Dota when he was just in Grade School.
He has had a meteoric rise to fame since then. He kicked off his career in Execration and then moved on to Rave. He didn’t really find much success in either roster. He realised his potential when he joined TNC Predator where he steadily became one of the most feared supports in the world.
It is clear that he is just beginning to hit his stride with TNC, with him being in the form of his life in the recently concluded TI9.
He has won a whopping 655,513.75 USD as prize money over the course of his career.
2. Carlo “Kuku” Palad
Image Courtesy: Epicenter
One of the most controversial, yet most loved players in the Philippines, Kuku is a household name in the world of Filipino esports.
He kicked off his career in Dota 2 with Mineski and announced himself on the world stage with his phenomenal Huskar, which sent shivers down the best of teams. But he truly became one of the faces of Filipino Dota with his time at TNC Predator.
Although he is hated by many in the Chinese community thanks to his previous use of inappropriate language, he has mustered an army of Filipino fans with his care-free, light-hearted approach to life.
He has earned 673,764.63 USD from Dota 2 prize winnings.
1. Djardel “DJ” Jicko Mampusti
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Image Courtesy: Valve
Who else could it be? DJ is arguably Filipino Dota 2’s most talented and skilled player. At times, he has even been considered the best support in the world. His talents are undeniable. His impact on the map is impressive no matter what position or team he plays in.
In his long and storied career, DJ has played in a number of different roles with some of the best players that SEA has ever seen, in various countries including South Korea, Malaysia and of course The Philippines.
Although the Filipino support still hasn’t won a premier LAN event, his string of high placements has boosted him to the top of the Filipino esports world with 759,997.31 USD in prize winnings.
Honorable Mention: Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross
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Image Courtesy: Valve
Since ninjaboogie is technically also an American citizen, we decided to not include him in this list even though he is one of the finest players to emerge from the Philippines and is arguably the best captain in the region.
He started playing competitive esports from the tender age of 12, kicking off his career by playing Counterstrike before switching to WC3 DotA where he made his name as a prodigy. But he left that scene to move on to Heroes of Newerth before making his comeback to Dota 2 in 2012.
In Dota 2, he is the only Filipino-born player to win a Valve tournament, triumphing in the PGL Open Bucharest and the Dota 2 Asia Championship 2018 with Mineski.
As a result of all this success, ninjaboogie has won a total of 470,710.39 USD From 39 Tournaments across the world.
