Esports: A look at some of the Highest Earning Teams

‘Fortnite’, ‘PlayerUnknown’s Battleground’ ‘Dota 2’… With such an abundance of titles available to compete, it is only logical to see a high number of teams as part of the esports ecosystem.

Similar to traditional sports, teams can operate different “squads” each focused on a different game, as well as junior or female-focused parties. That way, the team can explore different competitions under the same banner, expanding their fan base and their reach.

Sponsorship and advertising are by far the biggest source of revenue for everyone involved, although the market for broadcasting rights is currently on the rise as streaming audiences reach numbers that threaten to eclipse traditional sports over the next couple of years.

We have put together a list with a few of the highest earning teams, a brief reference to demonstrate their rising power and their ability to move masses in this day and age.

- Team Liquid

We can trace Team Liquid’s origins back to the year 2000, they’re veterans in the business with over 60 athletes competing in 14 of the world’s best games. Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Starcraft II and Fortnite are amongst their top earning squads.

A part of aXiomatic since 2016, Team Liquid has expanded its reach with its media enterprise through which they now manage online communities, have an influencer agency and a video content production company.

Their sponsors include Monster Energy Drink, SAP, Honda, Maxnomic, HyperX and Twitch.

- Evil Geniuses

Based in San Francisco, California, it was born in 1999. Since then, it has grown constantly and efficiently, and is now considered one of the top premium teams in the esports scene.

Although they compete in a lot of games, their top teams are for Dota 2 (they won the International 2015), Call of Duty, Rainbow Six Siege, Super Smash Bros. and Counter-Strike.

Evil Geniuses are currently sponsored by Design by Humans, Steelseries, Twitch, AMD, Need for Seat, Monster Energy Drink and Xfinity.

- Team Fnatic

Founded by Sam and Anne Mathews in 2004, their players attend more than 75 international events per year across 20 different games including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, League of Legends and Battlefield 4.

Headquartered in London, they’re constantly expanding, following their objective of becoming a globally recognized lifestyle brand created around eSports.

Their sponsors include OnePlus, Rivalry, Chillblast, Monster Energy Drink, NewZoo, DXR, Razer and AMD.

Looking at this landscape, it’s obvious that esports have a huge potential for partnerships with sponsors, broadcasters and advertisers. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg as there are a lot of other teams out there making a name for themselves.

In this highly saturated market there is no better way to meet the biggest players involved than through BizzTech's Online Pre-scheduled meetings of the best industry professionals in the upcoming esports business event: eSPORTS MEDIA. SPONSOR. BUSINESS. & TECH. | April 9/10

Mariana J. Suárez Jesús, content writer at BizzTech