Leading eSports players in the Netherlands 2023, by prize money earnings

The eSports player Melchior Hillenkamp earned approximately 654 thousand U.S. dollars in professional gaming tournaments in 2023, which placed him as the leading Dutch eSports player in that year. Manuel Bachoore came second in the ranking with their earnings amounting to 372 thousand U.S. dollars. 

The audience for eSports

The eSports audience worldwide exceeded 500 million viewers in 2022 and showed a growing trend between 2020 and 2022. There was a close to even split between occasional viewers and enthusiasts and in both cases, the numbers are projected to continue growing. The revenue of the global eSports market has shown a similar trend and was valued at over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.

The world stage

China was the highest-earning eSports country in 2022. The Asian nation amassed over 46 million U.S. dollars, followed by the United States and Republic of Korea. This leadership was reflected also in the regional eSports market revenues in 2021, where the Chinese market was the largest of those considered, at over 360 million U.S. dollars.