DM "I heard zai had a $25,000 Dota 2 salary in Team Liquid"

In a recent interview, Entity Gaming's offlaner Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin revealed eye-opening information about Dota 2 salaries, claiming that Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg earned a monthly Dota 2 salary of around $25,000 during his time with Team Liquid.

During a conversation with the YouTube channel HardBass TV, DM shared this information, shedding an insider light on the potentially lucrative nature of top-tier Dota 2 contracts. "I heard that zai was getting around $25k monthly playing for Team Liquid," DM stated. "I don't know how close this is to real numbers, but I think it was definitely at least $20k."

Zai's Dota 2 salary was around $20,000 - $25,000 per month in Team Liquid. (Credit: Valve).

Salary numbers look high, but zai delivered results

The alleged Dota 2 salary, which DM believes was from 2023, coincides with significant success for Team Liquid. During this time, the team consistently placed second in major tournaments, with zai playing a crucial role in their achievements.

During the interview, DM also expressed admiration for zai's contributions to Team Liquid, stating, "Zai was doing a titanic job on the team. He deserved such a salary." He highlighted zai's versatility and leadership, noting that the Swedish player served as captain, drafter, and in-game leader while maintaining an impressive hero pool.

While the exact figures remain unconfirmed, this revelation provides further insight into the pinnacle of the competitive Dota 2 mountain. In a separate Strafe interview, Travis "Castaway" Waters, most recently a Neon Esports player, discussed the broader landscape of Dota 2 salaries, particularly in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region.

Castaway expressed concern about unrealistic Dota 2 salary expectations, stating, "There are people in SEA asking for like eight or ten thousand USD a month, and they're not even a tier-one player."

Earlier in the year, the Dota 2 world also learned more about player salaries as Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan lost his court case against Evil Geniuses, revealing sensitive information. Per the documents, SumaiL had a $20,000 monthly Dota 2 contract in 2019, which would translate to $24,000 in 2024 when adjusted for inflation.

Zai retired from professional Dota 2 at the end of 2023 and joined Tundra Esports as Team Manager.

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Featured Image Source: HardBass TV