2014 was a big year for competitive Dota 2. In July Valve's flagship tournament The International 4 brought the biggest prize pool in eSports with a stunning $10,931,105. With first place taking home more than the entire prize pool from the previous year and second place taking home $38,509 more than Alliance's The International 3 grand prize, this was destined to be a year of large amounts of winnings. But where do the teams from around the world rank among each other from their estimated earnings from 2014?
This is the Rich List 2014, a list of the top 20 teams according to their estimated earnings. We compiled a list of the top 20 teams from their placements in various tournaments last year and their estimated winnings from each of them. Due to the different currencies and a few of the tournaments not having definite amounts for the prizes, the final amounts cannot be classed as official. However this list gives you an insight into the potentially surprising amount of money made by the Dota 2 players and organizations in the year of 2014.
1. Newbee $5,467,704
Biggest tournament victory: $5,028,308, The International 4
Players in 2014: Hao, Mu, ZSMJ, xiao8, Banana, SanSheng, Rabbit
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 91.97%
We all remember that moment well, Newbee were forced to play a tiebreaker to have any chance of surviving the group stages at The International 4. Though they made it through Newbee began the third phase of the tournament at the bottom of the bubble race. Forced into a hard fought battle against Titan, the Chinese team transformed in the third game and stormed through the remaining teams in the bubble race to take their place in the upper bracket. From the upper bracket, Newbee were unstoppable. While the grand final left more to be desired, Newbee's Rocky style comeback to take the title was nothing short of impressive. Winning The International and claiming the Aegis of Champions has made previous champions the kings of Dota in the past, but with the unprecedented size of the prize pool in 2014 - this was more of a reality. Newbee took home $5,028,308, an amount that stands at almost 92% of their earnings last year. Despite losing their captain Zhang 'xiao8' Ning to retirement, the team went on to take the grand prize of $325,000 at the World Cyber Arena in October reassuring the rest of the world that the Dream Team 2 was still a force to be reckoned with their new member Wang "Rabbit" Zhang and still rank within the top teams of the world as they enter 2015 and prepare for the large prize pool of the Dota 2 Asia Championships.
2. Vici Gaming $1,847,489
Biggest tournament victory: $134,512, The Summit 2
Players in 2014: rOtk, Sylar, Super, Fenrir, fy, iceiceice, Black^
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 79.87%
Despite being dwarfed by Newbee's financial success, Vici Gaming had a successful year even after going through heavy roster changes. Though the team failed to secure a tournament victory in the first half of the year, with notable third place finishes at the Dota 2 League Season 4 and The Summit. Their mixed form could not have been clearer at ESL One Frankfurt where the Chinese team were knocked out of the tournament in the first round to the hands of Fnatic. However, everything changed in the following month when the team made the infamous journey to Seattle. After good performances throughout, Vici Gaming fell at the final hurdle to Newbee in The International 4 grand final to secure $1,475,699 in prize money. It was the final event with the current roster as Fan 'rOtk' Bai temporarily retired as a competitive player and Jia 'Sylar' Jun Liu left the team for the new-look LGD Gaming. A new roster emerged with Team DK's Daryl 'iceiceice' Pei Xiang Koh and CIS Game's Dominik 'Black^' Reitmeier and the team went on to secure LAN final victories at the first season of i-League, ESL One New York and recently returned home from Los Angeles as champions of The Summit 2. The collective amount from winning those three tournaments? $284,307. With high placements in most tournaments since The International 4, Vici Gaming entered 2015 as one of the top teams in the world.
3. Evil Geniuses $1,558,526
Biggest tournament victory: $105,291, StarLadder Season X
Players in 2014: Fear, UNiVeRsE, ppd, Arteezy, zai, mason
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 66.63%
Evil Geniuses picked up the former S A D B O Y S roster after their victory at the ESP Shock Therapy Cup and the American team went from strength to strength to be ranked within the top teams of 2014. Their first big LAN final appearance was at Season 9 of StarLadder where they went home in third place with $26,062. Evil Geniuses went on to secure grand final victories in the build up to The International 4 at The Summit and D2L Western Challenge, though the team were humbled by a lethal Invictus Gaming in the grand final of ESL One Frankfurt to leave Germany with their $42,180 second prize.
Following an impressive showing in The International 4's group stages and securing placement in the upper bracket of the main event, hopes were high of a first American victory were high. Evil Geniuses secured a place in the lower bracket final but fell short against Vici Gaming resulting in their third place finish and a $1,038,455 prize. The Americans went on to dominate opposition in the World E-sport Championships, StarLadder Season X and DreamLeague Season 2 but the team entered 2015 with heavy roster changes following a frustrating experience at The Summit 2 in December.
4. Team DK $1,176,247
Biggest tournament victory: $163,000, WPC-ACE League
Players in 2014: BurNing, Mushi, iceiceice, LaNm, MMY, DreamyU, Cty, hanci, XBG, black.z
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 69.69%
Chinese powerhouse Team DK entered the new year with a seven game victory over Invictus Gaming in the WPC-ACE League grand final, a game worth $163,000. The team continued an impressive start to the year with victories at G-League Season 3, Sina Cup 3 and StarLadder Season 9 collectively adding $127,800 to their winnings by the end of April. Hopes were high for The International 4, and despite beginning their main event journey in the upper bracket the team were quickly pushed into the lower bracket by Evil Geniuses and eventually succumb to Vici Gaming to finish fourth and take home their $819,833 prize. The dream was over for the Chinese dream team and with retirements from Zhi 'BurNing' Lei Xu and Zhi 'LaNm' Cheng Zhang, the full roster went their own ways and abandoned the roster. Left with no other options Team DK saw out the rest of the year with a new roster of less experienced players with no notable tournament success.
5. Cloud 9 $1,042,263
Biggest tournament victory: $7,000, Game24 Invitational
Players in 2014: EternaLEnVy, bOne7, SingSing, pieliedie, Aui_2000, FATA-
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 62.92%
Cloud 9's financial year for 2014 is one of the strangest stories in Dota 2, as the team were only able to secure two tournament victories all year, the Game24 Invitational and a BountyHunter showmatch against Team Liquid. The combined winnings come to $8000, which reveals the bizarre truth that Cloud 9 have made approximately $1,034,400 from finishing second or below in 2014 alone. Though beginning the year as Speed Gaming they were signed up by Cloud 9 on February 9th and within three months the team had already secured $49,500 in winnings. In Seattle for The International 4, Cloud 9 were able grab a place in the top six in the group stage but following their loss to Team DK in the bubble race the team were forced to begin in the lower bracket. They were forced to settle for joint fifth and sixth place after falling short to Vici Gaming to claim their $655,842 prize. With other teams seeing roster changes, their performance at The International was enough to see WehSing 'SingSing' Yuen depart the team with Adrian 'FATA-' Trinks coming in as a replacement. Cloud 9 went on to pick up second place finishes at the World eSports Championship,the World Cyber Arena, DreamLeague Season 2 and The Summit 2. They enter the New Year with a new roster and looking for a big money tournament finish, something that has eluded since their debut under the new organization.
6. Invictus Gaming $911,183
Biggest tournament victory: $160,000, WPC League, season 2
Players in 2014: YYF, Ferrari_430, ChuaN, Hao, Banana, Faith, Luo, June, chisbug
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 56.98%
Invictus Gaming had a year dominated by their roster changes with a total of nine players appearing for the team through 2014. Following their 4-3 loss in the WPC-Ace final against Team DK, Invictus Gaming prepared for big changes after the Chinese New Year, resulting in a six man roster with Zhi 'Hao' Chen departing the team and Jiao 'Banana' Wang forced to the sidelines before his departure later in March. Their gamble with new player Luo 'Luo' Yinqi was consistently questioned by fans and casters through the year, but Invictus Gaming started picking up big wins through the year, beginning with a $160,000 grand prize in the WPC League grand final. Their infamous victory at ESL One Frankfurt as they dismantled Evil Geniuses in the final game of the final inspired hope for a potential second grand prize at The International, but going into the group stages Invictus Gaming seemed to struggle with form, surprising many by defeating Evil Geniuses and Team DK, but falling to teams they were expected to defeat like Natus Vincere.US, Team Empire and Team Liquid. Starting in the lower bracket Invictus Gaming fought hard but were knocked out by LGD Gaming to secure their worst result at The International and were forced to settle with joint seventh and eighth place and the prize of $519,227. More roster changes affected the team with Cen 'YYF' Jiang retiring and Hong 'Faith' Da Zeng making the decision to move to their TI4 victors LGD Gaming. Their failed to regain their form through the rest of the year with their replacements and saw Li 'CHisbug' Chen leave the team in December. Roster changes are expected to continue into 2015 as Invictus Gaming attempt to regain their place as one of the top Chinese teams.
7. Natus Vincere $829,382
Biggest tournament victory: $62,000, StarLadder Season VIII
Players in 2014: Dendi, XBOCT, Funn1k, Puppey, KuroKy, fng, VANSKOR, Goblak
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 62.60%
Natus Vincere started the new year with a bang after securing $143,411 by the end of April, winning both StarLadder Season VIII, Dota 2 Champions League Season 2 and a finishing second at the XMG Captains Draft Invitational. But a change in form was gradually taking place within the team as they started to slip into mediocrity. With hype growing for The International 4 Na'Vi began struggling to pick up decent results, landing fourth at The Summit and exiting the first season of DreamLeague at the group stage. Hope for a possible place in their fourth International grand final started to fade especially with their first round exit at ESL One Frankfurt. Following their group stage survival at The International 4, Na'Vi were forced into a first round exit by Cloud 9 leaving the team in a joint seventh and eighth finish and $519,227 in winnings. Their shortcomings at the tournament saw fan favourites Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov and Kuro 'KuroKy' Salehi Takhasomi being kicked from the team. But Na'Vi still struggled with their replacements with poor finishes at the World eSports Championship, World Cyber Arena and ESL One New York. The team even struggled to deliver at the finals of StarLadder Season X, a tournament they had one six times before. Their continued drop in form saw Barshak 'fng' Artsiom leave the team after under four months with the team and more changes are very much a possibility heading into 2015.
8. LGD Gaming $759,516
Biggest tournament victory: $32,700, G League 2014
Players in 2014: xiao8, DDC, DD, Rabbit, Lin, Yao, inflame, Sylar, InJuly, MMY, Faith
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 86.34%
Only appearing at ten events through 2014, LGD Gaming had a quiet year but their roster changes were the complete opposite. Not including their separate roster LGD.CDEC, LGD managed to have eleven players appear for the organization. The team even had a seven man roster in April, as the team struggled to replace the departed Ning 'xiao8' Zhang. The team secured their only tournament win of the year with xiao8 on the team when the team won the fourth season of Dota 2 League back in January. LGD only made three more tournament appearances before The International 4 in July, and they barely survived the group stage. A single tiebreaker victory over Mouz was enough to send them through to the main event. Despite their struggle, LGD Gaming were able to secure a victory over Invictus Gaming in the first round of the lower bracket. However they were unable to keep their momentum in the next round, falling short to Team DK and ending up in joint-fifth and sixth place with their $655,842 prize. Their roster changes were not over as Xie 'DD' Bin retired and Wang 'Rabbit' Zhang was sold to Newbee, forcing a four man roster change. The additions of Liu 'Sylar' Jiajun, Yang 'InJuly' Xiaodong, Lei 'MMY' Zengrong and Zeng 'Faith' Hongda were not able to grab a tournament victory before the end of the year, but victory in the second season of i-League has shown the team are ready to compete in 2015.
9. Alliance $325,440
Biggest tournament victory: $73,000, DreamLeague Season 1
Players in 2014: Loda, s4, EGM, Akke, AdmiralBulldog, Apemother, MiSeRy-, Mynuts, Pajkatt
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 11.75%
Rated as the most disappointing team in the recent GosuGamers 2014 awards, Alliance seemed to be hold their own in the first half of the year. The Swedish team picked up wins in the Dota 2 Champion's League, Dreamhack Bucharest and DreamLeague and showed some heated battles at ESL One Frankfurt. But the defending champions made the journey back to Seattle for The International 4 and immediately struggled in the group stage, dropping four losses on the first day. Alliance were able to pick up six victories through the group stage but big losses to the majority of the top tier teams saw the team exit the tournament with a whimper and only secured $38,259 in prizes - a dramatic difference from their $1,437,190 grand prize the previous year. Over the following two months Alliance announced the departure of their prized mid player Gustav 's4' Magnusson and support Jerry 'EGM' Lundkvist, a move with saw the team endure months without an official roster. Despite a third place finish at the World Cyber Arena, Alliance were not able to reclaim their form while experimenting with their new lineup, and saw in the new year hoping they could finally secure a long term roster.
10. Team Empire $254,846
Biggest tournament victory: $37,750, Excellent Moscow Cup Season 2
Players in 2014: Silent, Resolut1on, ALWAYSWANNAFLY, Mag, VANSKOR, Solo, yoky, ALOHADANCE
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 8.57%
Team Empire were blessed with a steady roster for the majority of the year, picking up victories at smaller tournaments such as CIS Carnage and Techlabs: April. Their third place finish in the second season of the Dota 2 Champions League saw a sudden rise in their success, falling short against Team DK in the grand final of StarLadder Season 9 and placing third in DreamLeague. A return to Romania for the Champions League saw them win the $33,900 grand prize just in time for The International 4 and the Russian team secured a direct invite to the event. However, their success prior to the tournament failed to help them in the group stage and Team Empire were only able to land six victories exiting the tournament in 13th place with only $21,862 in winnings. The following month the team saw changes as Ivan 'VANSKOR' Skorokhod left for Natus Vincere, but roster issues continued to affect the team until after Christmas. However, with a new lineup featuring Maxim 'yoky' Kim and Ilya 'ALWAYSWANNAFLY' Bondarenko Team Empire have started 2015 as one of the top Western teams.
11. Secret Team $238,570
Biggest tournament victory: $96,599, XMG Captains Draft 2.0
Players in 2014: Kuroky, Puppey, s4, Simbaaa, BigDaddy, MiSeRy
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: Not applicable
Despite only being formed in the aftermath of The International, Secret Team have consistently been ranked as one of the top teams in the world and have finished in the top four in all of the tournaments they appeared in by the end of the year. Good finishes at ESL One New York, StarLadder Season X, The Summit 2, Dota Pit 2 and the XMG Captains Draft Invitational 2.0 meant that despite their late arrival, the team have been able to earn enough to just be ranked outside the top ten. But will their roster changes affect the team entering 2015?
12. Fnatic $175,686
Biggest tournament victory: $20,086, XMG Captains Draft Invitational
Players in 2014: H4nn1, BigDaddy, Trixi, Simbaaa, Era, Excalibur
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 12.44%
2014 saw the end of Fnatic's Dota team after two years of service. The team had a decent run through the first half of the year, landing top four finishes in the Dota 2 League Season 4, StarLadder Season VIII and defeating Natus Vincere in the grand final of the XMG Captains Draft Invitational to take home $20,085. Despite a joint third and fourth place finish at ESL One Frankfurt, their form grew inconsistent in the build up to The International and the team struggled heavily in the group stage to exit in 14th place and with a prize of $21,861. The majority of the roster left over the following months and the organization later abandoned their Dota 2 team in December.
13. Virtus Pro $152,779
Biggest tournament victory: $29,139, MSI Beat IT 2014
Players in 2014: God, JotM, ARS-ART, Illidan, NS, Bzz, Sedoy, yol
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 0%
The first team on the list that failed to get any of The International 4's $10,931,105 prize pool after the team fell to MVP Phoenix in the play-ins, Virtus Pro found their winnings in other tournaments. While their biggest success was reaching the grand final of the XMG Captains Draft 2.0 and securing the $63,651 second prize, Virtus Pro's single victory of the year came at the beginning of November in Taiwan when the Russians powered to victory over Team Immunity to win the $29,139 grand prize. Entering 2015 with a persistent roster, Virtus Pro will be hoping for a better year, despite missing out on a spot in the lucrative Dota 2 Asia Champions in January.
14. MVP Phoenix $132,109
Biggest tournament victory: $59,289, Korea Dota League Season 3
Players in 2014: March, Reisen, Forev, Heen, QO
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 0%
South Korean team MVP Phoenix are the only team on this list that have the retained their five man roster from the beginning of 2014 to the time of writing this article. The second team to fail in escaping the play-in stage of The International 4 to leave empty handed, most of MVP Phoenix's success came in their homeland. Their success through the four Korea Dota League seasons saw the team land a massive $118,577, resulting in 89.74% of their overall winnings. This highlights their lack of success outside of Korea, finishing joint last at StarLadder Season 9 and being narrowly missing out on escaping the group stage at DreamLeague Season 2. But with a direct invite to the Dota 2 Asia Championships in the new year and experience growing for the Koreans, will 2015 be a successful year?
15. Zephyr $128,959
Biggest tournament victory: $56,500, Nexon Sponsorship League
Players in 2014: Blitz, Purge, SexyBamboe, Corey, Eosin, Merlini, sLiCKz, xFreedom
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: Not applicable
Perhaps the surprise entrance in the list, Zephyr are one of the top earners of the year despite only competing in South Korea. Following the disappearance of For Our Utopia organization, William 'Blitz' Lee brought together a new team to compete in the country and four players flew out from America to join him. While they won the debut season of the Korea Dota League, their biggest win was in the third season of the Nexon Sponsorship League where they had to come from the lower bracket to defeat Eye of Tiger Hammer to take the estimated $56,500 grand prize. The team struggled to find their form as the months passed and saw many roster changes including some stand-in appearances from Ben 'Merlini' Wu. Their poor form saw Korea Dota League Season 4 their final event, where they won the lower tier to claim approximately $2,321 before the team disbanded in January 2015.
16. Team Tinker $106,625
Biggest tournament victory: $10,000, Battle Arena
Players in 2014: Bulba, SingSing, qojqva, Excalibur, Pajkatt, EGM
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: Not applicable
Another team created during the roster changes following The International 4, Team Tinker brought members from Team Liquid, Cloud 9, Mouz and Fnatic together to compete under their own name. Team Tinker struggled with securing tournament victories, only claiming a win in two smaller tournaments, Battle Arena and Gigabyte Challenge 8. The teams biggest contributions to their winnings was their second place finish at the fourth season of the Dota 2 Champions League and a third place finish in the XMG Captains Draft 2.0, securing a combined amount of $58,470. Roster issues and poor form continue into 2015, with the future of the team still unclear.
17. Mouz $82,065
Biggest tournament victory: $5000, American Dota League Season 2
Players in 2014: Ace, Ryze, Cr1t, unicornxoxo, Exist, Pajkatt, FATA, MSS, MiSeRy, paS
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 46.61%
Another victim of the roster shuffle after The International 4, Mouz only made five appearances in 2014 beginning with victory in the American Dota League Season 2. The majority of their prize money outside of their International 4 appearance was made from their fourth place finish at DreamLeague and their opening round defeat at ESL One, while they fell short against Newbee and LGD Gaming in the group stage tiebreakers of The International to come away with $38,257. The departure of Adrian 'FATA-' Trinks signaled the end of the team after the event, with the majority of the roster finishing 2014 with new teams.
18. Team Liquid $72,616
Biggest tournament victory: None registered
Players in 2014: Bulba, TC, FLUFFNSTUFF, qojqva, Waytosexy, DeMoN
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 67.73%
Team Liquid were unable to win a tournament in 2014 but found their way to the grand final in the American Dota League Season 2 and MLG T.K.O America. Their biggest moment of the year was their appearance at The International 4 after the team only secured qualification to the play-in matches for the lone wildcard spot. Despite their position, Team Liquid were able to defeat both CIS and MVP Phoenix to enter the group stage and they lit the opening day on fire defeating Team DK, Newbee and Evil Geniuses. It was an unlikely rise and they hung on to enter the group stage, but their journey was cut short by LGD Gaming to finish joint 9th and 10th and took home $49,188. Almost immediately after the tournament it was announced that Jimmy 'DeMoN' Ho's contract was over and he left the team, before the remaining roster moved on, leaving the organization without a Dota 2 team.
19. Virtus Pro Polar $67,631
Biggest tournament victory: $21000, Battle of Central Europe 3
Players in 2014: Illidan, DKphobos, Lil, Scandal, Goblak, Mag, fng
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: Not applicable
Only formed on September 18th from the former-NVMI roster, Virtus Pro Polar made six tournament appearances before the year ended including victories in the Yard Red Festival and Battle of Central Europe Season 3. Impressively Virtus Pro Polar, currently known as ASUS.Polar as they enter a transitional period of changing their name and logo, reached the top four of each tournament they had qualified for. Virtus Pro Polar enter 2015 with two grand final appearances already as they push towards a potential spot in The International 5, after missing out on qualification for the Dota 2 Asia Championships.
20. Titan $64,781
Biggest tournament victory: $2000, The Inaugural
Players in 2014: XtiNcT, kyxy, Meracle, Ohaiyo, Net, YamateH, Mushi
Percentage of TI4 winnings to overall winnings: 75.92%
Despite earning so little in comparison to the rest of the list, Titan were a dominant force in the South East Asian scene winning eight tournaments, the biggest grand prize being their $2000 victory in The Inaugural. Titan's consistent performances earned the team a direct invite to The International 4, where they had an impressive campaign in the group stage including victories over Newbee, Natus Vincere and Team DK to enter the next phase. Due to a tiebreaker decision Titan were placed in the elimination stage of the bubble race where they met Newbee. A fiercely contested three game series saw Newbee come out on top and eliminate the team and force Titan to settle for their $49,188 prize. Following Chai 'Mushi' Yee Fung's departure from Team DK, he replaced Ng 'YamateH' Wei Poong as a temporary stand-in, but in October took the remaining four players to create Team Malaysia. This and YamateH's departure forced an end to Titan's participation in the Dota 2 scene.
Vici Gaming banner image by Chris Romano (flickr), Team DK banner image from the SLTV Facebook page, Cloud 9 banner image by Valve (flickr), Invictus Gaming headline and banner image by Kelly Kline (flickr), Natus Vincere banner image by Chris Romano (flickr), Alliance headline image by Helena Kristiansson (flickr), Team Empire headline image from the SLTV Facebook page, Secret Team headline image by Chris Romano (flickr), Fnatic headline image by Kelly Kline (flickr), MVP Phoenix headline image from the SLTV Facebook page, Mouz headline image by Helena Kristiansson (flickr)
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