After a roller coaster ride in 2020 due to the pandemic, the esports industry in 2021 gradually recovered. Following its postponement in 2020, the tenth annual edition of Dota 2's biggest tournament, The International, was eventually resumed in October 2021 in Bucharest, Romania, without a live audience.
PC MOBA Dota 2 is one of the most popular esports tournaments that give a lofty prize to the players. The recently held The International 10 crowned Eastern Europe's Team Spirit as champions, earning USD 18,208,300 (around PHP 910 million) from the massive prize pool of more than USD 40 million (around PHP 2 billion).
Meanwhile, teams with Filipino players, T1, Evil Geniuses (EG), and Fnatic, bowed out of the competition, placing 7th-8th, 9th-12th, and 9th-12th, respectively, taking home USD 1,000,500 (around PHP 50 million), USD 800,400 (around PHP 40 million), and USD 800,400 (around PHP 40 million).
Those are really big prizes. Dota 2 indeed dominates the esports industry when it comes to prize pools. So without further ado, listed below in ascending order are the top 5 Filipino DOTA 2 players with the highest earnings in 2021, which can also be considered the richest Pinoy DOTA 2 players. Note that these earnings are only estimated values and not necessarily accurate.
#5. Abed - PHP 32.9M
Name: Abed Azel Yusop
Age: 21 (in 2021)
Team: Evil Geniuses
Role(s): Solo Middle
Approximate Total Earnings: USD 660,122 (roughly PHP 32.9 million)
Abed Azel Yusop began playing Dota 2 in 2014 and quickly gained recognition for his signature heroes Meepo and Invoker on the Southeast Asian MMR leaderboards. He first joined MSI-EvoGT in 2015, competing in MPGL Season 7. Currently, he is playing for the North American team Evil Geniuses as Position 2.
He earned his largest cash prize of USD 160,080 from winning 9th-12th place finish, with a total consolation prize of USD 800,400, in The International 2021 in October 2021. Abed's overall earning is 660,122 US Dollars or around 32.9 million Pesos.
Abed reached the 11,000 Solo MMR bracket in May 2020, the first Dota 2 player to reach 11k MMR. He is well known for using the following heroes: Templar Assassin, Invoker, Storm Spirit, Puck, and Meepo.
#4. Raven - PHP 39.2M
Name: Marc Polo Luis Fausto
Age: 23 (in 2021)
Team: Fnatic
Role(s): Carry
Approximate Total Earnings: USD 786,533 (roughly PHP 39.2 million)
Marc Polo "Raven" Luis Fausto is presently a carry player for the team Fnatic. He was previously a member of the defunct Geek Fam, a Southeast Asian squad with Malaysian roots, and the TNC Pro Team, a Philippine team. Raven set a career-high with 33 kills in a single match at The Kiev Major 2017 while playing for TNC as Spectre against Thunderbirds in their group stage match. He is known for his aggressive playstyle, which contributes significantly to the team's success. His expansive hero pool makes it difficult for opponents to target him during the drafting stage.
He earned his largest cash prize of USD 160,080 from winning 9th-12th place finish, with a total consolation prize of USD 800,400, in The International 2021 in October 2021. Raven's overall earning is 786,533 US Dollars or around 39.2 million Pesos.
Raven reached the 11k Solo MMR bracket in January 2021. He is well known for using the following heroes: Gyrocopter, Juggernaut, Terrorblade, Spectre, Drow Ranger, Sven, Lone Druid, Slark, and Troll Warlord.
#3. Tims - PHP 39.9M
Name: Timothy John Randrup
Age: 24 (in 2021)
Team: BOOM Esports
Role(s): Support
Approximate Total Earnings: USD 800,007 (roughly PHP 39.9 million)
Timothy John "Tims" Randrup is currently a support role player for Indonesia's BOOM Esports. He has been a longtime TNC Predator member since 2016. He has also previously played for other teams based in the Philippines, including Rave and Execration. Tims owns two TNC Internet Cafe locations in the Philippines: TNC Sindalan CSFP and TNC HAU Angeles City.
During his stay in TNC, Tims has earned his largest cash prize of USD 160,000.00 from winning the WESG 2016 in January 2017, with a total prize of USD 800,000.00 for 1st place. Tim's overall earning is 800,007 US Dollars or around 39.9 million Pesos.
Tims achieved the 10,000 Solo MMR bracket in August 2020. He is best known for using the following heroes: Earth Shaker, Earth Spirit, Nyx Assasin, Mirana, Slardar, Vengeful Spirit, Io, and Ogre Magi.
#2. DJ - PHP 48.6M
Name: Djardel Jicko Mampusti
Age: 27 (in 2021)
Team: Fnatic
Role(s): Support, Captain
Approximate Total Earnings: USD 975,737 (roughly PHP 48.6 million)
Djardel Jicko "DJ" Mampusti currently plays for the Fnatic (a European Team with Southeast Asian players) as the team captain. He was formerly known as Chrissy and is a former member of Philippine-based teams, including Rave, MSI-EvoGT, and Execration. His impressive support play during his stay in Rave in 2014 made him famous. When he joined Fnatic in 2017, his support play was instrumental in finishing fourth at TI6. After changing roles several times, offlaner (position 3), jungler (position 4), and hard support (position 5), now he's back again as position 4 with the new Fnatic lineup.
He earned his largest cash prize of USD 290,786 from winning 4th place with a total award of USD 1,453,932 in The International 2016 in August 2016. DJ's overall earning is 975,737 US Dollars or around 48.6 million Pesos.
DJ carefully utilized his earnings from DOTA 2 tournaments. He used his winnings from DAC 2015 to invest in TheNet.Com, a chain of internet cafes in the Philippines where the TNC Pro Team is based.
DJ Mapusti's last recorded Solo MMR is in the 8k MMR bracket. He is well known for using the following heroes: Ogre Magi, Ember Spirit, Doom, Vengeful Spirit, Jakiro, Disruptor, Enigma, Enchantress, Earth Spirit, and Rubick.
#1. Kuku - PHP 49M
Name: Carlo Palad
Age: 25 (in 2021)
Team: T1
Role(s): Offlaner, Captain
Approximate Total Earnings: USD 982,344 (roughly PHP 49 million)
Carlo "Kuku" Palad is currently the captain of T1, a South Korean team. Before joining T1, he served as a coach of Omega Esports, an esports organization from the Philippines. He was also a former member of Malaysia's Geek Fam, which secured back-to-back titles in the BTS Pro Series S2 and ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League before being abruptly disbanded due to the Dota Pro Circuit's hiatus due to the ongoing global pandemic. Kuku's ingenious itemization and strategic positioning on the map enable him to shock opponents. Carlo Palad, despite his youth, already has a daughter.
He earned his largest cash prize of USD 200,100 from winning 7th-8th place finish, with a total consolation prize of USD 1,000,500, in The International 2021 in October 2021. Kuku's overall earning is 982,344 US Dollars or around 49 million Pesos.
Kuku reached the 10k Solo MMR bracket in December 2020. With his mastery of a large hero pool, he is best known for using the following heroes: Queen of Pain, Enigma, Batrider, Puck, Huskar, Phantom Lancer, Windranger, Centaur Warrunner, Beastmaster, Harbinger, Timbersaw, Tinker, Troll Warlord, and Juggernaut.
In comparison to the top 5 richest Pinoy DOTA 2 players in 2020, the 2021 list has some adjustments. Sam_H was removed, and Abed entered the charts. Kuku replaced DJ at the top. Raven is the only one that retained its position.
What are your thoughts about this list of richest Pinoy Dota Players? You can leave your comment below.
Credits: esportsearnings.com, liquipedia.net
Image sources: Abed's photo via Valve, Raven's photo via WePlay, Tims's photo via EPICENTER, DJ's photo via DreamHack, Kuku's photo via WePlay
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