When video games were first developed, the industry was not expected to be a lucrative career option. But over the years, the scenario changed. Though video games are not considered by sports enthusiasts as any kind of sport, the truth is, the video gamers walk away with big moolah, enough to put them at par with some of the greatest sports stars in the world. The scenario in gaming has not only changed in terms of the money that the players of gaming companies earn, but also in the image of the players. The general stereotype that video gamers are just obese bespectacled nerds does not apply anymore. They are cool and dashing.
Even women are taking up gaming as a profession, and there are numerous professional gamers. They are among the highest-earning in the industry. Let us take a look at the 10 Highest Paid Female Gamers in the world.
10. Alice “Ali” Lew
Alice Lew goes by the name Ali in the community, and is a strong contributor to the SK-Ladies Counter Strike Team, which is one of the most well-known names in the game. Lew has helped her team in beating every big contender in Counter Strike. Her first tournament was in 2006, in which she won $800. Two years from then, she partook in the competition again, this time to earn $4,000. She has played in five tournaments, and has shown great potential. Her current worth is $8,000.
9. Alana “Ms. X” Reid
Alana Reid is recognized by the name Ms. X in the gaming community, and is considered one of the fiercest women to watch out for in the gaming arena. This Canadian woman, who is just one tournament old, is still a potential force to reckon with. She participated in the game Quake III Arena in 2005, and successfully secured the position of a runner-up, facing tough competition. Her total earning from gaming worth $10,000 was won by her in this single tournament, showing great skill.
8. Livia “Liefje” Teernstra
Livia Teernstra assumes the name Liefje when she enters the virtual world of the games. She left her fellow gamers with surprise with her stunning performance in a competition held in New Zealand where she played Quake and Unreal Tournament. She then dominated a tournament which was held in Europe. She played Dead or Alive 4 in the competition, and gave a tough time to her competitors. She played two tournaments and placed 3rd in both, and bagging her career earning of $14,000.
7. Jamie “Missy” Pereyda
Jamie Pereyda, a simple-looking girl from the United States, is not so simple once she has a hands and mind in the game of QuakeCon III. Pereyda is known in the world of video games by the name Missy, a strong contender in the game of her choice. Back in the year 2005, she played in one tournament of the game, and successfully destroyed the fellow competitors in the Ms. QuakeCon II competition. In just one tournament, she won a whopping sum of $15,000, her total prize money.
6. Rumay “Hafu” Wang
Rumay Wang goes by the name Hafu in the gaming world, and is a World of Warcraft world champion. In just 4 tournaments of the world’s most reputed role playing game, she has been able to earn herself more than $14,000. While the rest of the world – well, the gaming world, at least – wants to step into her shoes, she has chosen to explore other areas, and taken up Bloodline Champions, in which she has made $2,000 from one tournament. Her total earning is $16,000.
5. Vanessa Arteaga
Vanessa Arteaga is considered a superstar in the field of video games and was picked first in the draft of the Championship Gaming Series’ list of players for the video game league. She is known to excel in the arena of fighting games, with Dead or Alive 4 being her beat. She took home a cash prize worth $15,000 as the championship prize money in 2008. A year before she had bagged her bulk winnings, she was also awarded $5,000 for her win in a tournament. Her earning is worth $20,000.
4. Sarah “Sarah Lou” Harrison
Known in the gaming community as Sarah Lou, Sarah Harrison is the only woman from Britain who have secured a position among the top earning professional gaming women. She chose Dead or Alive 4 because of its simplicity and cleanness and emerged champion in the one tournament she played, all thanks to the perfect collaboration between her own skills and a strong team, backed by regular practices. As the prize money, she took home a whopping $50,000 which is her net worth.
3. Marjorie “Kasumi Chan” Bartell
Marjorie Bartell, a Software Engineering major, assumes the avatar of Kasumi Chan, inspired by Dead or Alive’s Kasumi. She herself is a Dead or Alive 4 player, and she was on the team that became the Dead or Alive 4 champion in 2007. She walked out of the tournament $50,000 richer. Just a year before that, she emerged runner-up for the same game, and walked with $5,000. She has worked with several companies as an intern or gamer. Her total earning from gaming alone is $55,000.
2. Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn
Sasha Hostyn from Canada plays with the name Scarlett, and is one of the most popular women in the world of gaming, participating at most major competitions. Her skillset is sharp especially in StarCraft II, and is a diligence gamer. She has partaken in about 30 tournaments since 2011, and is not only renowned in the gaming community but is also a wealthy gamer, winning huge cash prizes that sum her worth up to $100,000. She is considered one of the world’s best StarCraft II players.
1. Katherine “Mystik” Gunn
Katherine Gunn, who goes by the name Mystik in the world of games, is the highest paid female gamer. Dead or Alive 4, a popular game with big money tournaments, is her forte. In just 3 years, she defeated top contenders in both Dead or Alive 4 and Halo: Reach. She placed 3rd in 2007, and bagged $15,000, and obtained 3rd position with $7000 in 2008. In 2010, she played Halo: Reach and became the champion, earning $100,000, besides fame. In her short career, she is already worth $120,000.
Other women who have earned themselves quite a firtune through a professional career as a gamer are Christopher “Potter” Chi with winnings worth $7,800, Jennifer “Jso” So and Samantha “Ricochet” Whale who have earned $7,000 each, Mirlet “Hitomi 1” Delgadillo whose earning from gaming so far is worth $6,000 and Seo “ToSsGirl” Ji-soo with $5,753.13 worth of winning from gaming. Women are thus showing great potential in the field of gaming, and though their earning is still less than their male counterparts who still constitute 70% of the contenders, it is likely that more and more women will be interested in this profession and soon give some tough competition to the men.