America passes Sweden in total prize money won in CSGO

The competitive Counter-Strike landscape witnessed a significant power shift following ESL One New York, marking a new chapter in the global esports economy.

According to comprehensive data from Esports Earnings, American competitors have collectively surpassed Swedish players in total CSGO tournament winnings. This achievement positions the United States as the second-highest earning nation in CSGO history, trailing only Denmark’s substantial lead.

Current statistics reveal the United States at $9,249,654 in cumulative earnings, narrowly edging out Sweden’s $9,171,578. While temporary fluctuations may occur, this milestone underscores a fundamental transformation in professional CSGO that has evolved over multiple competitive seasons.

Fnatic, Ninjas in Pyjamas were early champions in CSGO

During CSGO’s formative competitive years, Swedish organizations established unprecedented dominance. Teams like Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic were widely regarded as the game’s elite competitors, with additional Swedish-majority rosters from SK Gaming and LGB Esports consistently delivering strong performances.

This supremacy manifested repeatedly in early CSGO major championships. Every one of the initial six majors featured at least one all-Swedish lineup in the final match. Remarkably, three of these championship rounds featured exclusively Swedish teams competing against each other for the title.

Sweden’s competitive excellence extended beyond major tournaments. Events organized by DreamHack, Intel Extreme Masters, and ESL during this period became familiar territory for Fnatic and Ninjas in Pyjamas, cementing Sweden’s reputation as the leading nation in professional Counter-Strike.

However, this dominance proved unsustainable long-term. While Sweden continues to produce exceptional talent and organizations like NiP and Fnatic maintain competitive Swedish rosters capable of securing victories, other nations gradually emerged as equals. French, Polish, and Brazilian squads demonstrated comparable skill levels to Sweden’s finest as internationally mixed teams became increasingly prevalent.

The peak periods for NiP and Fnatic represent some of Counter-Strike’s most impressive competitive eras, though these achievements coincided with a less financially rewarding period for the esport. The most lucrative tournaments during this era offered prize pools of approximately $250,000, with no tournament organizers comparable to ELEAGUE or WESG offering substantially larger financial incentives.

Consequently, these prime competitive years generated significantly lower earnings compared to contemporary tournaments, though it’s worth noting that elite-level competition was less crowded, allowing fewer teams to challenge NiP, Fnatic, and their contemporaries.

Cloud9 and Team Liquid rise with North American CSGO

Historically, North American Counter-Strike operated in Europe’s shadow regarding competitive achievement. Both the United States and Canada historically possessed world-class players, with early international competitions showcasing successful performances from pioneering American organizations like Team 3D and Complexity. However, regional depth and infrastructure development declined in subsequent years, particularly following the Championship Gaming Series dissolution and decreased domestic interest in Counter-Strike 1.6.

Despite talent pool dilution across North America, the region consistently produced at minimum one or two highly competitive teams capable of challenging global elite squads.

Complexity Gaming served as an early CSGO representative for North America. iBUYPOWER demonstrated competitive capability against international top-tier teams before a match-fixing controversy resulted in team dissolution and Valve-imposed competitive bans affecting four of five roster members.

Cloud9 and Counter Logic Gaming assumed leadership roles thereafter. In 2016, Team Liquid emerged as a legitimate contender by advancing to the ESL One Cologne Major finals, representing North America’s closest approach to CSGO major victory at that time. Cloud9 continued iBUYPOWER’s legacy with international tournament successes. OpTic Gaming entered the CSGO competitive scene and established themselves as credible challengers during Astralis’s initial dominant period.

The North American region secured its inaugural CSGO major championship in 2018, with Cloud9 claiming the ELEAGUE Major Boston championship. Although the organization experienced competitive decline due to persistent roster instability, Team Liquid currently ranks among the world’s premier CSGO organizations following their historic 2019 competitive streak, while the previous NRG Esports roster, now competing under Evil Geniuses, maintains competitive proximity to the elite level.

Denmark stands as top earning CSGO nation, largely thanks to Astralis

Denmark maintains substantial leadership as the highest-earning CSGO nation globally. This Scandinavian country consistently produces elite competitive talent across multiple esports disciplines, establishing CSGO dominance throughout the game’s competitive history. This sustained excellence has generated $12,308,677 in cumulative Danish player earnings.

Astralis contributes the majority of this total, having accumulated $7,258,134 throughout their competitive tenure. The organization secured four major championships valued at $500,000 each, plus the inaugural Intel Grand Slam awarding $1 million. Additionally, the team captured numerous other prestigious tournament victories including two ESL Pro League championships and three ECS Finals titles.

Even excluding Astralis from calculations, Denmark retains considerable competitive depth. Multiple successful Danish organizations consistently perform well internationally including North, Heroic, and the current OpTic Gaming roster.

Furthermore, numerous Danish competitors have integrated into internationally diverse teams including FaZe Clan and Mousesports rosters.

MiBR, Virtus.pro, G2 Esports help their countries up the CSGO prize ladder

Following the United States and Sweden in the earnings hierarchy are several nations with distinguished CSGO competitive histories.

Brazil occupies fourth position with $6,955,956. While the region demonstrates considerable competitive depth, the majority of these earnings belong to two-time major champions including Epitácio “TACO” de Melo, Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, Fernando “fer” Alvarenga, and Marcelo “coldzera” David. This core lineup achieved success representing multiple organizations including Luminosity Gaming, SK Gaming, and MiBR.

France ranks fifth with $5,953,173. Compared to other nations, French earnings display greater distribution across multiple organizations and frequently shifting elite rosters. This pattern is clearly illustrated through France’s highest-earning CSGO competitor Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt, who captured significant tournament victories with Team LDLC, Team EnVyUs, G2 Esports, and Team Vitality.

Poland follows France with $5,480,986. More significantly than Brazil’s situation, the overwhelming majority of Polish earnings derive from one organization, Virtus.pro. The roster featuring standout competitors like Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski and Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas ranked among the game’s elite during early competitive years. Additional contributing organizations include Team Kinguin and AGO Esports.

A substantial earnings gap separates these nations from Canada at $3,528,565 as another contributor to North American CSGO advancement. Russia follows closely at $3,381,283, representing the CIS region’s highest total.

Canada has developed numerous elite competitors integrated into premier North American rosters, with Team Liquid’s Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken and Keith “NAF” Markovic representing the nation’s highest earners by significant margins. Russia hasn’t produced any single organization maintaining extended competitive dominance. The highest-earning Russian competitors include Natus Vincere roster members Denis “electronic” Sharipov, Egor “flamie” Vasilev, and Denis “seized” Kostin. Beyond these individuals, additional Russian competitors have achieved peak performance with various CIS squads.

The shifting CSGO earnings landscape reveals critical insights about esports development patterns. Early Swedish dominance demonstrates how pioneering organizations can establish competitive supremacy during a game’s formative period, though economic limitations of that era meant financial rewards didn’t match contemporary standards.

North America’s ascent highlights the importance of sustained investment in regional infrastructure. Despite talent pool challenges, consistent organizational support and strategic roster development enabled breakthrough performances at the highest competitive levels.

Denmark’s sustained leadership underscores the value of developing comprehensive talent pipelines. The country’s success extends beyond a single dominant organization, with multiple Danish competitors achieving international success across diverse teams.

For aspiring competitive regions, the success patterns suggest focusing on both organizational stability and player development systems. The evolution from national dominance to international distribution of talent represents a natural progression in mature esports ecosystems.

No reproduction without permission：Games Guides Website » America passes Sweden in total prize money won in CSGO How North America surpassed Sweden in CSGO earnings and the global prize money landscape shift