Matthew “NaDeSHoT” Haag
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| Photo by: Getty Images |
Haag is considered by many as the best “Call of Duty” player of all time, with a long list of championships and estimated earnings of over $1 million. The first Red Bull-sponsored “Call of Duty” e-sports athlete, he has more than a million followers on both YouTube and Twitter. While he announced in April 2015 that he was going on hiatus from competitive gaming, the team he co-owns, OpTic Gaming, won e-sports team of the year at The Game Awards 2015.
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| Photo by: @sktelecom_t1 / Twitter |
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok
Undoubtedly the best player in the most-watched e-sport game, “League of Legends,” Lee is likely e-sport’s most widely known star. While it’s unclear if the South Korean can become even bigger than that, his talent at the game is apparent, as he’s often compared to the Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods of “League of Legends” due to his dominance and ruthlessness.
Sumail “Suma1L” Hassan Syed
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| Photo by: suma1l / Facebook |
Only 16 years old, Syed became the youngest player ever to surpass $1 million in winnings when his team, Evil Geniuses, won The International 2015. Arriving seemingly out of nowhere to the “Dota 2” scene early last year, the Illinois resident quickly entered the conversation of not only one of the best e-sports players in North America, but across the world.
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| Photo by: Getty Images |
Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel
Wendel, the elder statesman of e-sports, was long the industry’s highest earner with his prowess in first-person shooter games. While he no longer competes professionally, he still is one of the most recognizable gamers via his online streaming and his branded line of gaming accessories and products.
James “Firebat" Kostesich
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| Photo by: Red Bull |
“Hearthstone,” the online card game introduced by Blizzard Entertainment in 2014, has quickly caught on in the e-sports scene, and perhaps no player has ridden that wave better than Kostesich. The Texas native was crowned the game’s first world champion in November 2014. Now, as the game has continued to grow in popularity, so have his winnings.
