eSports professionals earn as much money as football stars

The millionaire contracts signed between players and their teams are not open to the public. That is, the values mentioned below correspond only to the amounts paid in prizes. Speaking of salary is a very difficult task, but there is an example: at the end of last year the agreement between South Korea's Lee "Faker" Sang- hyeok and the SK Telecom T1 team, "League of Legends": US$ 2.5 million per year.

Nicolle Merhy, known as "Cherrygumms," is 20 years old and the owner and captain of the Black Dragons team, divided into teams from eight different games and 60 cyber-athletes. But her flagship is "Rainbow Six Siege," a shooting game with which BD, as it is known among fans, was runner-up in May this year.

Created in 1997, it is the oldest eSports team in Brazil and has the young player as reserve player, since each team of "Rainbow Six" has 5 starters. That is, she pays her own salary. "Today, BD's main income comes from sponsorship. We have two sponsors: Acer (manufacturer of computers), with a monthly fixed amount, and Twitch (online transmission service), with goals," Nicolle explained to UOL Esporte.

If the law student seems too young to run a multi-player team, Flamengo's eSports division goes further: it is in the care of the company Cursor eSports, which has 17-year-old João Sobreira as its CEO. The athletes run by him and Cherrygumms do not receive only salary: the money also comes in the form of awards for good performance in championships.

The eSports Earnings website points out that Brazil is currently 12th in the list of countries with the most rich and award-winning pro players in the world. China ranks first; followed by USA, South Korea, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, France and the United Kingdom.

Brazil appear as the best placed in South America. Chile is placed only in 47th and Argentina - which does not have a Messi among the players - is in 51st.

Contrary to what the country ranking indicates, the biggest prize in the world does not belong to a Chinese. It is the German Kuro Takhasomi, the "KuroKy". At age 24, he has accumulated US$ 3.3 million in prizes as a Dota 2 professional. Second is Amer Barqawi, the "Miracle". Son of a Polish woman, she was born 20 years ago in Jordan and has already accumulated U$3 million, also playing "Dota 2".

Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo is the 'golden boy' of the country. He received US$ 600,000 in prizes won by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the popular "CS: GO". At the age of 25, it was in a lan house in the interior of São Paulo that he presented himself to the universe of FPS games - acronym for first-person shooter ("CS" and "Rainbow Six").

Since when does videogame give money?

The "pro" side in a pro player includes a routine workouts that can last from 8 to 12 hours a day. The Brazilian Association of eSports Clubs (ABCDE) has already determined that players and coaches of "League of Legends" must have registration in the Work Card and contracts that respect the rules of the Pelé Law.

Just as a footballer leaves the family before the matches and goes to the concentration, the gamers train together in a house called a gaming house. The games mentioned above, such as the tactical "Rainbow Six Siege", require study and a deep strategic work. All taken extremely seriously, which wipes out any label that "it's just for fun.”

GMB / UOL Sports