The tactical shooter VALORANT has only been on the market for a few months. The first professional Esport-Teams are formed to gain a foothold in the emerging scene. Their salaries are worth seeing.
That teams form before there are established leagues is nothing new. If you look at the last few years, you can see a pattern. Apex Legends or PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUND are games in which players were signed up before the announcement of a league system or tournament.
VALORANT has pushed this trend to a new limit. Teams have already formed during the shooter’s beta, i.e. before the official release of the game.
The salaries of the teams are impressive.
According to the Esport-Journalist of Graham Ashton, the average salary of a 5-man team is between $15.000 and $25.000 per month. The salary depends on the region. Some players receive a higher salary than the above amount, depending on the visibility and reach of social media.
As in any other game, players can market themselves through streams and content. This way they can build up their own fanbase (Twitch, Youtube, …) One of the most famous players in Valorant is the former Overwatch professional Jay “sinatraa” Won. Won has given up his Overwatch career and starts in VALORANT for Sentinels.
So far, the developer Riot Games of VALORANT has only approved tournaments under the name “Ignition Series”. The next tournament under the banner is the WePlay! VALORANT Invitational.
