5 Highest Earning CS2 Players

Counter-Strike 2 has dominated the competitive esports scene for almost a decade and allowed dozens of players to become millionaires. For pros, the ever-increasing popularity of the game also means increased competition, making it less and less feasible to claim the title of the richest CS2 player in history. However, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying.

If you're trying to find a player's unique identifier, a Steam ID lookup tool can be immensely helpful.

Of course, it’s hard to discover exactly how much CS2 professionals earn because of NDA agreements, both in advertising and salary contracts. Still, we can count their official winnings at top-tier events and come up with the list of highest-paid CS2 players. The highest salaries in this industry are measured in tens of thousands of dollars monthly, especially if the player in question has some decent advertising contracts. For instance, it’s hard to imagine how much AMD paid s1mple to become their ambassador, where Intel provides similar opportunities for multiple players each year. At the same time, legendary old-school teams like NiP and fnatic can’t boast such impressive results, as during their prime a typical prize pool for a Major or ESL Pro League consisted of just $250K, which seems negligible compared to the modern $1+ million.

With all that said, let’s find out who is the highest-paid CS2 player and how much they earned from winning at Esports events.

The competitive scene boasts numerous talented pro players in Counter-Strike 2, each bringing a unique skill set.

5. Oleksandr Kostyliev (s1mple) — $1.72 Million

Widely regarded as the GOAT and for a good reason (record of three years of top 1 awards), Oleksandr Kostyliev deserves a separate article about his financial achievements. Playing for NaVi since 2016, s1mple got a stable cash flow only in 2021 when Natus Vincere dominated the Pro scene for almost a year. Apart from Stockholm Major 2021 and the third Intel Grand Slam, the Ukrainian star holds a record of MVP medals at serious tournaments (21) and is also a popular streamer.

In October 2023, s1mple announced his temporary retirement from professional Counter-Strike. During PGL Copenhagen 2024, he sat on NaVi's bench while they won their second major. Still, even considering this factor, there is a good chance he would lead the list of highest-earning CS2 players in the world if we could count all his media advertising earnings.

Prizes won:

1. 1st — PGL Major Stockholm 2021 — $200,000.00
2. WIN — Intel Grand Slam Season 3 — $166,666.67
3. 1st — BLAST Premier: Global Final 2020 — $100,000.00
4. 1st — BLAST Premier: World Final 2021 — $100,000.00
5. 1st — IEM Season XVI — Cologne — $80,000.00
6. 1st — IEM Season XIV — World Championship — $50,000.00
7. 1st — StarLadder & i-League — Season 7 — $50,000.00

Consistently delivering incredible plays, s1mple's earnings place him among the highest-paid players in CS2.

4. Lukas Rossander (gla1ve) — $1.86 Million

The rest of the richest CS2 players pack is a bit predictable, consisting of the core of Astralis team from when they were dominating the pro scene. Lukas Rossander, the captain of this dream team, joined Astralis a bit late (in 2016) but became the one who led them to four Majors, with the latter three taken in a row. Unfortunately, the latest struggles of the Danish team led to gla1ve and a few other players leaving it. Maybe his transfer from Astralis to ENCE will help him score even higher in the future lists of the highest-earning CS2 players.

Prizes won:

1. WIN Team-based Tournament Intel Grand Slam Season 1 — $200,000.00
2. 1st — ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 — $100,000.00
3. 1st — ELEAGUE Major 2017 — $100,000.00
4. 1st — FACEIT Major: London 2018 — $100,000.00
5. 1st — IEM XIII — Katowice 2019 (CS:GO Major) — $100,000.00
6. 1st — StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 — $100,000.00
7. 1st — BLAST Pro Series: Global Final 2019 — $70,000.00

With Astralis' numerous championship titles, gla1ve's earnings have skyrocketed in the past few years.

3. Nicolai Reedtz (device) — $1.92 Million

Nicolai Reedtz is probably the most consistent player in the game’s history, with eight finishes in the top 20 of the Year by HLTV. Of course, the lion's share of his earner money came during the Astralis era, with dev1ce being the team’s leading player with the best ranking. Nicolai also did pretty well playing for TSM and Dignitas, but his voyage to NiP resulted in mental health issues because of the pressure, causing him to return to Astralis in 2022. The Danish squad is struggling right now, but Reedtz still looks like he isn’t done with Counter-Strike yet.

Prizes won:

1. WIN — Intel Grand Slam Season 1 — $200,000.00
2. 1st — ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 — $100,000.00
3. 1st — ELEAGUE Major 2017 — $100,000.00
4. 1st — FACEIT Major: London 2018 — $100,000.00
5. 1st — IEM XIII — Katowice 2019 (CS:GO Major) — $100,000.00
6. 1st — StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 — $100,000.00
7. 1st — BLAST Pro Series: Global Final 2019 — $70,000.00

Fans and analysts often refer to device's profile to understand his evolution as a top-tier CS2 player.

2. Andreas Hojsleth (Xyp9x) — $2.0 Million

Andreas ‘Clutch-Minister’ Hojsleth is a true definition of a self-made man and surely deserves the place at the top. Despite being part of Astralis’ its inception, his ability to play incredibly well in critical situations is undoubtedly a personal skill. Still, Xyp9x was the best assistant and supporter in the history of highest-earning Counter-Strike pros and the only man with 500+ clutches (1vsX).

However, it seems like his career as an active pro player is coming to an end. On March 12, 2024, Xyp9x left Astralis to become a coach for MOUZ. Still, it doesn’t mean that he will leave the list of the highest-earning CS players soon. His winnings in previous years granted Andreas a significant head start, which will take quite some time for other players to beat.

Prizes won:

1. WIN — Intel Grand Slam Season 1 — $200,000.00
2. 1st — ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 — $100,000.00
3. 1st — ELEAGUE Major 2017 — $100,000.00
4. 1st — FACEIT Major: London 2018 — $100,000.00
5. 1st — IEM XIII — Katowice 2019 (CS:GO Major) — $100,000.00
6. 1st — StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 — $100,000.00
7. 1st — BLAST Pro Series: Global Final 2019 — $70,000.00

As a core member of Astralis, Xyp9x's earnings mirror the team's global success.

1. Peter Rasmussen (dupreeh) — $2.1 Million

The story of Peter Rasmussen, the richest CS player, is also related to Astralis and their glory days of winning every event they’ve attended. dupreeh was the team’s secondary AWP and earned his place among the most consistent riflers of the game. Besides his Astralis era, Peter’s place in the highest-earning CS2 pro players rating is a result of his excellent performance playing for TSM, winning a few Majors with the team. These days, dupreeh is playing for Team Falcons, and his earnings are much more moderate.

Prizes won:

1. WIN — Intel Grand Slam Season 1 — $200,000.00
2. 1st — BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 — $100,000.00
3. 1st — ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 — $100,000.00
4. 1st — ELEAGUE Major 2017 — $100,000.00
5. 1st — FACEIT Major: London 2018 — $100,000.00
6. 1st — IEM XIII — Katowice 2019 (CS:GO Major) — $100,000.00
7. 1st — StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 — $100,000.00

Many fans are curious about dupreeh's earnings throughout his successful CS career, especially given his accomplishments with Astralis and TSM.

Conclusion

So, that was the list of the richest players in CS2. You can envy them, you can think that their fortune is well deserved and earned by hard work, or you can believe they just got lucky. After all, such cases prove that cybersports are not inferior to traditional sports in many ways. When a person dedicates their entire life to a cause and becomes the best of the best at it, they deserve to receive tangible compensation for the effort. Strive for more, be thankful for less, and most importantly, have fun.