Esports is a rapidly growing industry as evidenced by the esports teams that won the most money in 2022.
The gaming industry has seen a massive upward trend, with statistics valuing a whopping $178.2 billion in market revenue last 2021. Even if you’re not a developer, there are so many ways to get a huge bite of success by making money in gaming. Streamers, casters, content creators, and other professionals share to entertain and enrich the gaming landscape.
Esports, or competitive gaming, is reserved for the best of the best within the gaming space. The team who dominates the most also earns the most, so these players train rigorously to be better than their competition. This list contains the top 5 esports teams which won the most money in 2022.
FaZe Clan
FaZe Clan is owned by Thomas “Temperrr” Oliveira. Known mostly for their top-tier teams in shooting games, FaZe Clan has proved themselves in Call of Duty, Warzone, CS: GO, FIFA, Fortnite, Halo, Overwatch, Rainbow Six: Siege, PUBG, Rocket League, and more.
FaZe Clan’s CS:GO team is on a hot streak for winning many tournaments in 2022, including winning $500,000 from the PGL Major Antwerp 2022. Their successful CS:GO performances makes them one of the esports teams team that won the most money in 2022.
Of course, FaZe Clan is most famous for its Call of Duty roster. They are strong competitors in CoD: Vanguard and Warzone. And that continues with the newly released Modern Warfare 2, as their roster won the CODAgent $3,000 4v4 Search & Destroy on October 28, 2022. FaZe Clan reportedly earned over $3 million USD in 2022. With the newest Call of Duty out, expect FaZe Clan to be one of the esports teams which continue to win big.
Team Secret
Founded by Estonian Clement Ivanov (Puppey), Team Secret has teams in Dota 2, League of Legends, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, Valorant, and Wild Rift. Team Secret’s biggest win of 2022 was a second-place finish in The International, taking home 13% or $2.4 million USD from the overall prize pool.
Team Secret is finding decent success with its two Philippine rosters playing in Valorant and Wild Rift. They finished in the top five of the six tournaments they joined in 2022, even winning the VCT 2022: Philippines Stage 2 Challengers competition.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid is the most active esports organization on this list based on the number of tournaments they entered. Their most financially successful games for 2022 are Dota 2, CS: GO, StarCraft II, Rainbow Six Siege, and League of Legends. Team Liquid’s Dota 2 team took third place in The International, winning 9% or $1.7 million USD of the prize pool.
Team Liquid’s Counter-Strike roster is a dominant force in the professional scene. They placed first in three CS:GO tournaments in 2022, including the Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Dallas: North American Qualifier.
Nova eSports
Based in Hong Kong, Nova eSports is a professional esports organization that mostly competes in popular mobile games. Nova eSports has players in PUBG Mobile, Lol Wildrift, Call of Duty Mobile, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, FIFA online, Arena of Valor, Honor of Kings, and more. The organization also has representatives outside of mobile games, like Overwatch, PUBG, and League of Legends.
Their Chinese PUBG Mobile team is wildly successful; they won the PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2021: Grand Finals and grabbed second place in the Peacekeeper Elite League Summer 2022. Nova eSports has gained nearly $3.8 million this year.
Tundra Esports
Tundra Esports has reportedly earned over $9 million USD in 2022. Most of their earnings come from winning Dota 2’s eleventh The International grand tournament. The International is famous for having absurdly high prize pools, like boasting $40 million last 2021 or $34 million in 2019. The International 2022 had a total prize pool of nearly $19 million; Team Tundra brought back 45% or $8.5 million USD.
Team Tundra was also in several other tournaments this year. They won the DPC WEU 2021/2022 Tour 3: Division I. As an esports organization, Team Tundra also has representatives competing in FIFA, Rocket League, and Fortnite tournaments.