Hacker News Reader

As far as I can tell, SC2Earnings details only tournament winnings (which makes sense as there's no reason other earnings would be public). That means a lot of these players could be making even more money off of coaching, sponsorships, or casting.

View on HN

I am pretty sure almost everyone on that list also draws a salary from their team. The winnings are just a bonus, though some may have it in their contracts that their team receives a slight percentage of them.

I'm sure all of the $200-300/hr coaching sessions adds up to a significant sum for most of these players. Casters definitely are making a lot more than players.

Also Huk is estimated to get a six figure salary from his team Evil Geniuses. Prize money is a bonus.

I think HuK and other "top end" players on A-list teams like EG are the exception, not the rule, though - I suspect many in the "long tail" of players making $10-$40k/year in prize money aren't getting much in the way of salary, which makes StarCraft look like a much less appealing profession.

It'll be interesting seeing people change careers and give retrospective-style interviews in the coming years - right now in terms of salary and coaching and casting money there's a lot of speculation and little data.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com