The eSports scene has come a long way with many great players. ESports tournaments with huge prizes always attract tens of millions of viewers around the world. The winning players bring home admirable titles and huge prize money, making fans excited. Let’s take a look at the top 9 best esports players of all time with Bestsoccertips.com, who have made great contributions to the development of this industry.
Top 9 best esports players of all time
1. Moon (Warcraft 3)
- Achievements: 5 world championships, 3 national Warcraft 3 championships on Korean television.
- Income: Estimated over 550,000 USD
Jang “Moon” Jae-Ho is the greatest Warcraft 3 player of all time. While Grubby can win tournaments all over the world, Moon wins and wins in Korea, which is considered the holy land of eSports and especially Warcraft 3.
In addition to his success in terms of titles, Moon is also recorded in the history of Warcraft thanks to the record contract he received in 2009. Moon’s contract was worth up to 500,000 USD, a huge number at that time. This generous salary clearly reflected his success, status and above all, his popularity in Korea in particular and Asia in general.
2. Jeadong (Starcraft)
- Achievements: One of the best StarCraft players in history, Flash’s biggest competitor and also won many victories in Starleague.
- Earnings: Estimated $450,000+
From 2007 to 2011, Lee “Jaedong” Jae Dong won 2 MBCGame Starleagues, 3 OnGameNet Starleagues, and 3 World Cyber Games titles. With all of these achievements, Jaedong clearly deserves his reputation as one of the best StarCraft players.
Over the course of his career, Jaedong has made it to the finals of 9 different StarLeagues. In the finals, he has only lost to 2 opponents, at Arena MSL 2008, he lost to Park “ForGG” Ji Soo. Of the remaining 4 losses, he lost to the greatest StarCraft player of all time, Lee “Flash” Young Ho.
3. Fatal1ty (Quake)
- Accomplishments: The best player in early American eSports with 12 championships.
- Earnings: Over $450,000
Jonathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel is the best player the United States has ever produced. In terms of prize money, he is the highest earner in eSports history. Fatal1ty’s peak of fame in the early 2000s is something few American gamers today can match.
Wendel’s competitive career began in 1999 with his first win in a $500 Quake 3 tournament. A few months later, he took home $4,000 in Dallas and then $15,000 in Sweden. By that time, he had become a world-famous Quake star with an 18-game winning streak. Throughout his career, Fatal1ty has won a total of five championships. He secured sponsorship deals and built his personal brand to heights that few individuals, teams, or eSports tournaments have achieved. Wendel has even appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, and most memorably on MTV’s True Life series.
4. F0rest (Counter-Strike)
- Accomplishments: The player has maintained his form and dominance from CS 1.6 to CS:GO.
- Earnings: Over $760,000
Counter-Strike is an iconic game in eSports, especially in the West. Among them, Patik “f0rest” Lindberg is a player from Sweden, one of the most successful countries in CS.
Since starting his competitive career in 2005, f0rest has consistently ranked as one of the most feared and honored players in CS. With over 50 gold medals to his name, no one blinks an eye when calling f0rest the greatest CS player of all time. Like Grubby, f0rest is not only a great player but also an impressive performer. Among them, no one can forget the 87-0 LAN winning streak of Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP), considered an unprecedented map streak in eSports history.
5. Daigo (Street Fighter)
- Accomplishments:Famous for his comeback at Evo Moment #37 against Justin Wong.
- Earnings:Estimated at over $270,000
Daigo Umehara was the first Japanese eSports player to gain global fame. During his 1998 trip to the US, he defeated Alex Valle in Street Fighter Alpha 3, marking the beginning of a long-awaited cross-continental title battle.
Daigo also played professionally in many other video games, from Vampire Hunter to Street Fighter 5. Daigo’s career highlight came with his thrilling victory over Justin Wong in 2004. He has been competing at the top level for over 15 years, winning back-to-back Evo titles in 2009 and 2010. He has won two Topanga A League titles, two Topanga World League titles, and placed second at the Capcom Cup 2015.
6. BoxeR (StarCraft)
- Achievements: Pioneer of Korean eSports, with his image spreading widely in the mass media in the early 2000s.
- Earnings: Over $170,000
From its release in 1998 to 2000, StarCraft was the most popular eSports game on the planet. While other games struggle to host tournaments and are always begging for sponsorship, StarCraft tournaments see stadiums and arenas packed with screaming fans.
BoxeR has been called the Michael Jordan of eSports as his influence and recognition spread throughout Korea. He was the first player to win a StarCraft tournament in 1999, then conquered the World Cyber Games in 2001 and 2002. BoxeR’s battles with Nada and iloveoov are always ranked among the most memorable battles in eSports history. Above all, he is known by millions of people around the world and has a fan club of up to 500,000 members.
7. GeT_RiGhT (Counter-Strike)
- Achievements: Pioneer of the “lurking” tactic and achieved 10 MVPs in tournaments.
- Earnings: Around $600,000
In 2009, just two years after his Counter-Strike 1.6 debut, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund was at the top of his game when he was picked up by Fnatic. Despite being surrounded by stars like f0rest, cArn, and Gux, it was GeT_RiGhT who defined for the world how Swedes played CS.
Pioneering the “lurking” style of play, GeT_RiGhT took advantage of every opportunity his teammates gave him to kill and make things difficult for his opponents. During his time with Fnatic, he won 10 tournaments in his first year. GeT_RiGhT’s success in this short period of time is what most eSports players have dreamed of throughout their careers. However, that was just the beginning because as soon as CS:GO was released, GeT_RiGhT affirmed himself as the best player in the world. He and f0rest became the nightmare of every professional team at that time.
8. Faker (League of Legends)
- Achievements: 4-time League of Legends World Championship
- Earnings: Over $1 million
Faker is the best player ever in League of Legends, the largest and most competitive eSports in history, a sport that has approached the level of “professional sports”. In 2013, when he was only 17 years old, Faker was recruited by SK Telecom and then became a legend.
Faker is the only player to have 4 World Championship trophies in his collection along with dozens of other large and small awards. In which, he has won the domestic championship 6 times, won all international tournaments such as MSI, All-Stars or IEM. Faker is the only eSports player to have appeared on the cover of ESPN’s’ Magazine. He is the one who earns more prize money than any other League of Legends player. Fans even called him “the national treasure of Korea” to show how influential and revered he is.
9. N0tail (Dota 2)
- Achievements: 2 consecutive The International championships
- Earnings: Over $7 million
Johan “n0tail” Sundstein is the highest-earning player in eSports history. He has won over $7 million in prize money throughout his career thanks to his hard work and determination. Before coming to Dota, n0tail was a famous HoN player and a member of one of the best HoN teams in the world. After many years of dominating professional HoN tournaments, n0tail and his friends decided to switch to Dota 2. However, they did not work out and decided to part ways.
After the disbandment, n0tail and his teammate Fly founded OG. The team was built on friendship rather than partnership and thanks to that, they continuously won major tournaments. However, success came to n0tail in an extremely ironic way after his close friend Fly and some other members betrayed and chose to leave OG without any official announcement. This was like the key to unlocking the ‘seal’ and awakening the monster of n0tail. After that, n0tail’s team won 2 consecutive TIs and made n0tail become the highest-earning player in all eSports.
Conclusion
Above are the top 9 best esports players of all time. These players are not only excellent in gaming skills but also in competitive spirit, leadership and influence in the eSports community. Each of them left their own mark and contributed significantly to the development of the eSports industry. Therefore, their stories will always live in the hearts of fans and inspire the future generation of young players no matter how much time passes.
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