For those looking to be the next Most Valuable Player, a new tool could be what you need to become the next eSports title-holder.
How To Become An eSports Champion uses detailed market data from the last 20 years to predict the average winnings for the next five years, including the exact amount players, teams and countries are likely to win, as well as how much games, genres and events will pay out.
Via a bespoke algorithm that monitors trends, the tool feeds historical data on earnings and tournament payouts through a recurrent neural network to unveil what’s really worth playing in 2019 and beyond.
Player earnings: Projected earnings from 2018 to 2019
| Player | Highest earnings 2018 (£) | Predicted highest earnings 2019 (£) | Percentage change |
| 1st | 1,780,508 | 2,560,423 | 43.8% |
| 2nd | 1,774,355 | 2,544,762 | 43.4% |
| 3rd | 1,772,412 | 2,470,789 | 39.4% |
| 4th | 1,748,802 | 2,414,950 | 38.1% |
| 5th | 1,748,253 | 2,329,113 | 33.2% |
2018 proved to be a successful year for the top five highest-earning eSports players, who took home an average of £1,764,866 in tournament winnings.
Dota2 Player Jesse Vainikka, known as JerAx, was the highest earner in 2018, pocketing £1,780,508.
2019 appears to be a particularly profitable year, with the top-earner predicted to pocket £2,559,622 in winnings.
In fact, the average winnings of the top five players are set to rise 39.6% from £1,764,866 in 2018 to £2,464,007 in 2019.
Team earnings: Projected earnings from 2018 to 2019
| Team | Highest earnings 2018 (£) | Predicted highest earnings 2019 (£) | Percentage change |
| 1st | 8,912,098 | 13,937,613 | 56.4% |
| 2nd | 5,409,473 | 5,863,111 | 8.4% |
| 3rd | 4,168,377 | 5,512,280 | 32.2% |
| 4th | 3,251,656 | 5,328,089 | 63.9% |
| 5th | 3,076,487 | 5,013,103 | 62.9% |
2018 saw the top five highest-earning teams earn an average of £4,963,618 from tournaments. Team OG proved to be the most successful team, netting a staggering £8,912,098.
Meanwhile, 2019 looks to build upon this staggering sum even more, with the top team tipped to take home a hefty £13,937,613.
Teams will be preparing for upcoming clashes in 2019, particularly with team earnings set to increase by 43.7% to £7,127,399 in 2019.
Country earnings: Projected earnings from 2018 to 2019
| Country | Highest earnings 2018 (£) | Predicted highest earnings 2019 (£) | Percentage change |
| 1st | 21,911,367 | 35,544,915 | 62.2% |
| 2nd | 12,583,235 | 26,702,237 | 112.2% |
| 3rd | 13,662,922 | 27,563,430 | 101.7% |
| 4th | 8,123,258 | 9,314,842 | 14.7% |
| 5th | 5,683,294 | 7,547,980 | 32.8% |
In 2018, the United States earned the most from eSports, winning £21,911,367. However, in 2019 it’s China that’s predicted to make the most money – £35,544,915 to be precise.
2018 saw the most talented countries take home an average of £11,783,244. In 2019, a predicted increase of 70.6% suggests that the top-earning countries will earn an estimated £20,104,938.
Highest paying games: Projected winnings from 2018 to 2019
| Game | Highest earnings 2018 (£) | Predicted highest earnings 2019 (£) | Percentage change |
| 1st | 32,161,161 | 33,355,124 | 3.7% |
| 2nd | 17,574,328 | 11,567,849 | -34.2% |
| 3rd | 15,596,603 | 9,679,486 | -37.9% |
| 4th | 11,225,693 | 3,501,952 | -68.8% |
| 5th | 5,480,958 | 3,161,263 | -42.3% |
Dota 2 has further cemented its popularity as the highest-paying game in 2018. In the last year, Dota 2 awarded £32,161,161 in prize winnings. Predictions forecast Dota 2 as the highest-paying game for the next five years!
Through 2018, the five leading game titles paid an average of £16,407,749 to winners. However, an average predicted percentage change of -25.3% suggests that this figure will fall to £12,253,135 in 2019 among the games placed 2nd to 5th as Dota 2 continues to dominate.
Highest paying genres from 2018 to 2019
| Genre | Highest earnings 2018 (£) | Predicted highest earnings 2019 (£) | Percentage change |
| 1st | 55,138,618 | 65,113,482 | 18.1% |
| 2nd | 47,578,285 | 23,901,284 | -49.8% |
| 3rd | 4,811,591 | 4,720,112 | -2.0% |
| 4th | 4,179,416 | 3,908,256 | -6.5% |
| 5th | 3,869,050 | 1,409,632 | -63.7% |
2018 has revealed the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) as the highest-paying genre, as £55,138,618 was paid out to top teams.
2019 will be a less profitable year for eSports champions specialising in MOBAs, first-person shooters, sports, card games and strategy games. The average payouts are set to change by -25.3% from £23,115,392 in 2018 to £19,810,553 in 2019.
Highest paying events from 2018 to 2019
| Event | Highest earnings 2018 (£) | Predicted highest earnings 2019 (£) | Percentage change |
| 1st | 19,846,161 | 36,361,574 | 83.2% |
| 2nd | 7,761,729 | 8,756,864 | 12.8% |
| 3rd | 6,248,209 | 5,580,082 | -10.7% |
| 4th | 5,013,585 | 5,309,667 | 5.9% |
| 5th | 3,047,793 | 5,246,454 | 72.1% |
The International 2018 was the highest-paying tournament last year, with winners receiving £19,846,161.In 2019, the same tournament is forecasted to pay out a whopping £36,361,574 – an increase of 83.2%.
In 2019, tournaments will pay 46.1% more than the previous year, with payouts set to rise from £8,383,495 to £12,250,928.
To find out what’s really worth playing in 2019, visit: https://www.esports-champions.com/
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