Play a video game competitively for prize money or a team salary. Only a few dozen Canadians make a living.
Click through it
Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$0
Most competitive players
$0
Signed to a top league
$150,000
Most people who play competitively earn nothing, or a few hundred dollars in prizes that do not cover entry fees and gear. The top figure is a Canadian on a team in a top league, paid in US dollars, with bonuses. A handful of stars earn far more.
US$1,265
won by the 100th highest-earning Canadian player in 2025
The top Canadian won about US$213,000 in prizes that year, the 10th won US$37,400 and the 50th US$4,400. Prize money is often split with the team, so most of these players did not make a living from prizes.
From US$50,000 a year
about $68,000, the minimum Riot set for partner-team players in the Valorant Champions Tour Americas league
Teams can pay more, and stars do. But the league for all of North and South America has about 12 teams of 5 starters. Canada has no top-league team of its own, so Canadians who make it usually move to the United States.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is a console or a mid-range gaming PC you may already have, a headset and an online ranked account. The high end is a strong PC, a fast monitor, good peripherals, some paid tournament entries and flights to in-person events, which are often in the United States. There is no tuition. A team covers travel and housing once you are signed, but the years before that are on you.
Many people spend this and more chasing pro play. Treat it as the cost of a hobby, not an investment that will pay back.
Team salary
Only in top leagues and a few second-tier ones. Contracts usually last 1 to 2 years and teams cut players often.
Prize money
Winnable, but concentrated at the top. Teams usually take a share.
Streaming
Some pros earn as much from streaming on Twitch or YouTube as from their salary, and streaming can last after retirement.
Sponsors
Gear and energy drink deals, mostly for players with a big personal following.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
No diploma or licence. You climb a ranked ladder, then amateur teams, then the leagues.
Reach the top of ranked play
Years, often from age 12 to 16
Canadians play on North American servers, so you compete with the whole continent for a scout's attention.
Join amateur teams and online tournaments
1 to 3 years
Play with a fixed team, learn communication and roles, and build a record people can look up.
Get noticed by a second-tier team
1 to 2 years
Development leagues and academy teams. Pay is low or nothing, but this is where top teams scout.
Sign with a top-league team
Often age 18 to 21
Riot's top Valorant leagues require players to be 18. Most top North American teams are based in the United States.
Plan the exit
A career of about 3 to 6 years
Most pros stop competing in their mid-twenties and move to streaming, coaching or work in the industry.
Physical education
Fitness, sleep and posture keep your reactions sharp and your wrists healthy.
English and communication
Shot-calling under pressure is a speaking skill.
Math
Game economies, odds and reviewing your own stats.
Communications technology
Streaming and video are where most players' money comes from in the end.
No licence is needed. A team contract is a legal document: have a parent or a lawyer read it, especially the buyout, streaming and prize-split clauses. To play for a US team you usually need a P-1A visa, the US visa for internationally recognized athletes, which the team applies for. The CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) taxes Canadian residents on income from anywhere, and tax withheld in the US can usually be claimed as a credit so you are not taxed twice.
Varsity teams
A growing number of Canadian colleges and universities field varsity esports teams. St. Clair College in Windsor was one of the first.
Ontario scholarships
Ontario funded scholarships for students in gaming and esports fields. Ontario Tech awarded $1,000 to $5,000 each.
US college scholarships
Some Canadians take esports scholarships at American colleges. Most awards are partial, not a full ride.
Esports and game programs
Esports management, production and game design programs train for the jobs that last longer than playing.
Things you don't need, but that help.
A top ladder rank held for months
Not one lucky season.
A role and a champion or agent pool
Teams sign to fill a gap.
Clear communication in English
Most North American teams mix players from several countries.
A clean record
Toxic chat and cheating bans are public and teams check.
A streaming following
Teams value players who bring fans and sponsors.
A coach or a review partner
Watching your replays with someone better is how players improve fastest.
Fast, stable internet
Wired, not wifi, and close to a major city for low lag.
A valid passport
Events and teams are mostly in the United States.
For every player on stage there are coaches, analysts, managers, video producers, casters and tournament staff. These jobs last longer than playing careers, and many go to former players. Canada has a large game development industry, in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto, which hires people who know games deeply. Streaming is the other big route.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
You wake late morning, eat and go to the practice room. Afternoon is scrims, practice matches against other pro teams, for four to six hours. Then the coach reviews footage with you: what went wrong, what the other team does. Evening is solo ranked play or streaming, which may be in your contract. Weekends are match days, sometimes with flights. One bad split can end your contract.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Researchers at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia studied 3,305 StarCraft II players aged 16 to 44. In-game response speed began to decline at about age 24.
Esports Earnings has tracked about US$1.68 billion in prize money across about 134,000 players and 653 games. The top player alone, a Dota 2 pro from Denmark, has won about US$7.2 million.
In 2025, the 50th highest-earning Canadian on Esports Earnings won US$4,400 in prizes all year. That is less than many people spend on gear and travel.
Creators first, then the rest of the field. See all online and self-made careers.
Last checked October 2026. This is self-employment, so there is no government wage data for it. The income figures come from the studies and platform data listed above.