A Brief Look into the Success of Canada’s Highest Earning eSports Athlete Kurtis Ling (Aui_2000) | Dota 2 | eSports


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Dota 2 - The International 2012

“[eSports is] my passion. It’s my dream job. It’s really what I’ve always dreamed about doing.”

-Kurtis Ling, professional Dota 2 player

22 years old, making $258,000 in the last 2 months playing video games, Kurtis Ling (a.k.a. Aui_2000), is enjoying a great streak as a pro gamer with Dota 2.

Ling is currently Canada's top earning eSports athlete, ranked 13th in the world. Ling started studying at the University of British Colombia in 2010, but has since put his studies on hold to focus completely on pro gaming.

“I just decided to take a year off to try to pursue gaming full time. Monetarily … it made a lot more sense to try to go professional in gaming than it did to complete my degree ... [Also], I think eSports in general is at a time of growth, so this is the best time to sort of get into the scene — especially in a game like Dota 2,” Ling said.

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Considering that Dota 2 prize earnings have soared over the last few years, Ling has been enjoying a nice piece of the Dota 2 prize pie, but things did not always appear this good.

“The highest prize pool tournament I ever competed in with DotA was $500 for first place. There was no reasonable way a person could make a living off the scene back then.”

But Ling lived through history in the making, when Dota 2's first The International tournament came about with its $1.6 million prize pool, and all subsequent tournaments, where the last The International was over 550% the prize earnings of the first (at nearly $11 million).

“When Dota 2 first was introduced the company that made it hosted a tournament called the International, and it was a $1.6 million prize pool. And it spurred a lot of interest in the game.”

Ling has a career total of $498,000 in prize winnings. This number does not include the revenue Ling gains from Twitch streaming, sponsorships or his regular salary as part of Evil Geniuses.

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