---
title: 'How Esports Teams Make Money?'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=rKAG5gokD6Y'
video_id: 'rKAG5gokD6Y'
date: 2026-07-28
duration_sec: 497
---

# How Esports Teams Make Money?

> Source: [How Esports Teams Make Money?](https://youtube.com/watch?v=rKAG5gokD6Y)

## Summary

Esports has grown from a niche hobby into a billion-dollar industry, with top organizations valued over $200 million. This video explores the rise of esports, how teams generate revenue through sponsorships, merchandise, streaming, and prize pools, and why the barrier to entry remains low for aspiring players.

### Key Points

- **Esports as a rising sport** [0:00] — Esports is competitive gaming with massive tournaments in games like League of Legends, Dota 2, Rocket League, and FIFA. It has grown exponentially in the last decade, with 8 million daily participants.
- **Market size and growth** [0:36] — The esports market is projected to generate $1.8 billion in 2022, while the video game market overall will reach $190 billion. Top esports organizations are worth over $200 million.
- **Definition and scale** [1:16] — Esports refers to organized competitive gaming. The top Dota 2 tournament, The International, had a $40 million prize pool in its latest installment.
- **How esports teams work** [1:57] — Intel started pushing esports with the Intel Extreme Masters in 2007. Viewership has pushed esports into the mainstream, with Intel even trying to get it recognized by the IOC.
- **Viewership and attendance** [2:34] — Event attendance at stadium competitions is rising, and online viewing is increasing. A survey in China found 45% of adults had watched esports.
- **Low barrier to entry** [2:51] — James Dean, CEO of ESL UK, explains that esports has no barrier to entry. Anyone can start gaming, compete, and potentially win big.
- **Sponsorships and advertisements** [3:22] — 90% of esports revenue comes from sponsorships and ads. Companies like Red Bull and HTC sponsor jerseys, targeting hard-to-reach demographics like millennials.
- **Merchandise sales** [4:13] — Teams sell jerseys and gaming items. 100 Thieves uses a hyper beast style with high prices and limited quantities, selling out within 20 minutes.
- **Content creation and streaming** [5:48] — Gamers can stream on Twitch to millions, generating ad revenue. Teams like Team Liquid partner with production companies to create high-quality content.
- **Prize pools** [6:27] — Prize money has increased dramatically, with the 2019 Fortnite World Cup winner receiving $3 million. However, prize money often goes to the team, not the players.
- **Getting started in esports** [7:11] — The barrier to entry is low: all you need is a computer and internet. Games like Dota 2 and League of Legends don't require high specs. Anyone can stream for free on Twitch or YouTube.

### Conclusion

Esports is still in its infancy compared to traditional sports, but it offers immense opportunities for players and organizations. With low entry barriers and growing viewership, now is the best time to get involved.

## Transcript

what do you think of when you visualize
a sports tournament
a packed stadium fit athletes battling
it out for glory
for decades sports tournaments have
generally been a staple in the lives of
many around the world
from fifa world cups to nba games and
qriket tournaments
sports have always been associated with
physical activity
however in the last decade there's been
an exponential rise in a type of sport
that has generally been overlooked and
undermined
a sport that anyone from any part of the
world could take part in
this is the story of the rise of esports
gaming is the fastest growing form of
entertainment globally
on its current trajectory we estimate
the esports market will generate
1.8 billion dollars in 2022
and the video game market itself will
generate around 190
billion dollars the top esports
organizations are worth more than 200
million dollars according to forbes and
those evaluations have been climbing
steadily so the money behind the scenes
is there but the revenue streams for
esports organizations are complicated
and complex but before we jump right
into the numbers let's take a look at
what esports
are and what pushed them to their
current heights
esports is the term used to describe
competitive gaming with massive
tournaments in games like
league of legends dota 2 rocket league
fifa
and many more the la times says 8
million people log on
every day to take part and yet for some
of us it still feels somewhat foreign
and underground culture even
the most played right now is dota 2 with
prize money well into the nine figure
mark and attracting thousands of
participants
and related tournaments the top dota 2
tournament called the
international had a prize pool of 40
million dollars in its latest
installment
so how do these esports teams work and
how do they manage to raise this
enormous amount of money
let's take a look put simply esports are
electronic sports
organize competitive gaming events in
various leagues with teams and players
battling
out for victory intel started pushing
esports with the first intel extreme
masters gaming tournament back in 2007
at cebit worldwide viewership of esports
competitions
has helped push popularity into the
mainstream to the point that
intel has even tried to get esports
officially recognised by the
international olympic committee by
bringing season 12 of the intel extreme
masters
to pyeongchang during the 2018 winter
olympics
event attendance at the big stadium
competitions is increasingly on the rise
as fans make an effort to watch their
favorite teams compete
but online viewing is increasing too a
survey in china revealed 45
of the adults there had watched esport
at some point
but what attracts so many people to this
supposedly
niche field james dean ceo of esl
uk explains esports has no barrier to
entry
if you're a gamer you're a gamer if you
want to step up your game and play in a
competition
you can do so if you're really great and
you practice a lot you might be on a big
stage winning a million dollars
and that's open to everyone in the large
part it's about making opportunities for
anyone
to do anything but where does this money
come from
like a lot of sporting events ninety
percent of the revenue in esports
is sponsorships and advertisements these
revenue streams include sponsorships in
exchange for advertisement on the
player's jerseys
similar to those of traditional sports
for example the energy drink brand red
bull and the smartphone company htc
have jersey sponsorships for cloud9 a
legacy esports team
these sponsorships allow companies to
gain nationwide recognition
and potentially international
recognition as well if the esports team
qualifies for international tournaments
in the digital age esports teams allow
sponsors to target
demographics that have been
traditionally difficult to reach through
standard marketing tactics
millennials typically watch less
television and listen to the radio less
often than older demographics
increasing the importance of social
media marketing
players and sponsors will typically
collaborate on advertising campaigns
dr pepper has a long history in esports
gaming with partnerships dating all the
way back to mlg in 2008.
as such they know how to get a good
response out of the esports audience
and can serve as a case study for other
brands who want to get involved
in addition to the team soda mid ad dr
pepper
also received a lot of press by
featuring tsm fortnite players on
bottles of soda
coupled with this is the merchandise
sales of the team's jerseys and
mostly gaming oriented items like
controllers or mouse pads
teams take various approaches such as
the 100 thieves a new team formed in
2018
which uses a hyper beast style of
merchandising with high prices
and limited quantity this has been very
successful for them
with apparel selling out within 20
minutes of release
in november 2017 former professional
gamer matt nadeshot haig
took to his youtube channel to announce
that his apparel company 100 thieves
received a multi-million dollar
investment from cleveland cavaliers and
quickened loans owner dan gilbert
allowing him to expand into a
full-fledged esports
organization was funded by hip hop star
drake
and scooter braun who represents famous
artists like justin bieber and ariana
grande
however merchandise will always be a
comparatively lesser portion of the
total revenue
this is mostly due to the fact that
fewer people watch esports tournaments
in person at a stadium
so they might not have the same
dedication to purchase jerseys to show
support like you would in other sports
third
we have content creation and streaming
almost every serious gamer professional
or amateur can stream on twitch to an
audience of potentially millions every
single stream
this is a great way to get started and
on the route to professional gaming
with advertisement revenues on each view
the teams can keep funding high quality
videos
teams like team liquid take this onto a
higher level by partnering with one up
studios
an esports production company showing
just how much care they put into this
sector
not only is this a source of revenue it
attracts other people who like the game
to your team
and increases the fan base finally
one of the most significant sources of
revenue an indicator of how good the
team is
is the prize pools the winners receive
at any tournament
prize money in esports is increasing at
an incredible rate
while prize pools are mounted to a mere
couple of thousand dollars at most in
the past
they now reach several million dollars
for large competitions
the winner of the 2019-14 world cup
booger
received three million dollars as a
prize however what most don't realize is
all the money
often doesn't go to the players but
instead to the team
which is generally owned by someone else
and the players are employees like in
any other sports team
however with the increase in viewership
and the prize money there's a lot to be
made as a player too
how does one get started in this that's
the best part
the barrier to entry is very low all you
need is a computer
and an internet connection and the world
is your oyster
most games like dota 2 and league of
legends don't even require
too high of computer specs to get
started so anyone can get started and
play
you can either take part in local
tournaments that happen near you
or play online and go up in rank anyone
can stream for free on twitch and
youtube to gain viewers and build a
following
esports are on the rise but they're
still at an infant phase with respect to
other well-established sports
organizations in terms of viewership and
money
the best time to get into esports would
be right now
thanks to the internet while not
everyone can make a full-time career out
of it yet there's a lot there for some
side money and grow to make it your
full-time job if you get good at it
you