Report

2025 eSports Player Rankings: By Game and Earnings in Korea

1 January 20256 pages1,098 words

Summary

South Korea’s professional gaming landscape is characterized by a title-centered evaluation system where prize earnings are highly concentrated among elite players. Analysis of the country’s top eSports competitors across five major PC-based titles—League of Legends, StarCraft II, Valorant, Overwatch 2, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)—reveals significant disparities in cumulative wealth based on the longevity and global scale of each game’s competitive scene. League of Legends remains a dominant sector, with Lee Sang-hyeok (Faker) leading all players with approximately $1.88 million in prize money as of July 2025. This exceeds the top earners in other disciplines, such as Cho Sung-choo (Maru) in StarCraft II, who earned $1.39 million, and Park Jung-young (Loki) in PUBG, who secured $1.25 million. In contrast, newer or more recently transitioned titles like Overwatch 2 and Valorant show lower cumulative earnings, with top players Choi Tae-min (MER1T) and Kim Jong-min (Lakia) earning $375,450 and $164,980 respectively. The data, sourced from eSports Earnings and compiled by the Korea Creative Content Agency, utilizes a longitudinal methodology tracking performance from as early as 2010 through mid-2025. While the rankings for League of Legends, StarCraft II, and Valorant reflect 2025 figures, the data for Overwatch 2 and PUBG is current through late 2024. This segmentation highlights a fragmented domestic performance structure where success is measured by game-specific milestones rather than a unified national ranking. The findings underscore a mature market where established titles continue to provide the highest financial returns for top-tier professional talent.

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