Philippines: Betting on eSports – Richest Filipino Players of All-time
Sports betting in the Philippines is widespread, and one of the most popular forms of betting is eSport. In this blog, we will take a close look at the ten most successful eSport players who call the Philippines home.
Although many of us play online games, it’s often just for fun or an excuse to meet up with friends. However, big money can and is won by players regularly through taking part in tournaments. Join a good enough team and play well enough, and you could afford to play professionally full-time. Going professional is exactly what many Filipino players have done, and the best can make an excellent living out of it.
Sports Betting Philippines – The Richest Players
Kuku Palad – Carlo “Kuku” Palad is a Filipino professional Dota 2 player who was born September 21st, 1996 (age 25) and is the captain of team T1. He is one of the most controversial personalities in the eSports scene but also one of the most popular, especially with punters at sports betting sites. He is no stranger to setting records as he had the highest average deaths per game (6.35) of any core player at The International 2016 and the highest average kills per game (9.80) a year later at The International 2017.
Djardel “DJ” Jicko Mampusti – born November 6th, 1994 (age 27), Djardel Jicko B. “DJ” Mampusti was the highest-earning Filipino eSport player until Palad recently overtook him. He is well-travelled and has been part of various teams, including EoT Hammer, Rave, MSI-EvoGT, Fnatic, and Execration, before joining his current team Fnatic in April 2017. In the Dota 2 Asia Championships in 2015, Rave finished 5th, claiming 5% of the prize pool of $3,057,519. Dj used his winnings to purchase an internet cafe chain in the Philippines called TheNet.Com. The TNC Pro Team are based there.
Timothy Randrup – born July 4th, 1997 (age 24), Timothy John “Tims” Randrup currently is playing for BOOM eSports after previous stints at Execration, Rave and TNC Predator. Tims is in a rich vein of form, winning the Tier 1 GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 and the Tier 2 ESL One Thailand 2020: Asia. Never afraid to surprise, Randrup picked Monkey King support in the grand final of the BTS Pro Series Season 8 SEA and racked up a 100% win rate on the hero.
Marc Polo Luis Fausto – Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto was born on September 22nd, 1998 (age 23), and despite his young age, he has represented many teams, including Click ‘N Search (twice), Mineski, TNC Pro Team and Lotac. He currently plays for Fnatic, who he rejoined in 2020 after a previous stint with them in 2016. Raven’s record in a game is 33, and he achieved that total while playing for TNC Pro Team as Spectre in their group stage match against Thunderbirds in 2017.
Abed Yusop – Abed Azel “Abed” L. Yusop, born August 2nd, 2000 (age 21) started playing Dota 2 in 2014 and started to gain recognition with his signature heroes Meepo and Invoker and climbed quickly up the South-East Asian MMR leaderboards. RR scouted him and invited him to join them in 2015, but he turned them down due to school commitments. A popular choice for eSports betting in the Philippines, Abed became the first player to reach 10,000 solo MMR in 2017.
Armel Paul Tabios – Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios was born on January 20th, 2000 (age 22) and currently plays as a Solo Middle for Fnatic after previous spells at Acion Arena, Clutch Gamers, Team Admiral and TNC Predator. He enjoyed a good run at his last team, winning four in a row, including 1st place at the Tier 1 MDL Chengdu Major. He reached 10,000 MMR on March 11th, 2020, and eight months later broke through the 11,000 barrier. You can see an an interview with Armel on this YouTube link.
Sam Enojosa Hidalgo – Samson Solomon Enojosa “Sam_H” Hidalgo was born December 12th, 1994 (age 27) and is one of the most loyal Dota 2 players on the planet. He stayed with TNC Predator for around four years and played 730 games with the team before moving on to DeToNator. However, he only stayed with them for four months before moving on to DeToNator, Lowkey eSports, Neon eSports (Trial), T1 and Omega eSports. His last tournament win was with DeToNator. He was part of the team that won the Tier 2 Cobx Masters 2019 Phase II tournament.
Khim Villafuerte – Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte Santos was born on August 1st, 1998 (age 23) and started his journey with Acion Arena in March 2016. He has moved teams often with spells at Execration (twice), Clutch Gamers (twice), Team Admiral, TNC Predator, and Talon eSports. He is currently with T1. Gabbi reached 10,000 MMR on August 27th, 2020 and 11,00 on October 19th, 2020. At the MDL Chengdu Major, he had the highest average kills per game (11.06).
Nico Barcelon – Nico “eyyou” Barcelon’s age is unknown, but he has had two separate periods of activity in playing Dota 2, 2015-20 and 2022 onwards. As well as being one of the most underrated Filipino eSport players, he is also an established coach and has many admirers as an analyst. When eSports betting in the Philippines, he is a popular pick. His 63.33.% win percentage in 2019 is the highest rate in his career. Like a fine wine, eyyou gets better with age.
Karl Jayme – Karl “Karl” Matthew Baldovino was born July 8th, 1998 (age 23) and has played Solo and Middle for several teams, including Pacific Revborn, Young Minds, Execration, Geek Fam, and is currently with T1. He reached 10,000 MMR on September 18th, 2020 and 11,000 on October 9th, 2020. A longtime veteran of the Dota 2 scene, he had the highest average kills per game (9.38) at The International 2021.
| Ten Richest Filipino Players of All-time | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player ID: | Player Name | Game | Total Earnings |
| KuKU | Kuku Palad | Dota 2 | $998,661.30 |
| DJ | Djardel Jicko Mampusti | Dota 2 | $992,927.43 |
| Tims | Timothy Randrup | Dota 2 | $843,410.15 |
| Raven | Marc Polo Luis Fausto | Dota 2 | $803,723.22 |
| Abed | Abed Yusop | Dota 2 | $676,522.09 |
| Armel | Armel Paul Tabios | Dota 2 | $514,506.63 |
| sam_H | Sam Enojosa Hidalgo | Dota 2 | $497,684.78 |
| Gabbi | Khim Villafuerte | Dota 2 | $471,451.35 |
| Eyyou | Nico Barcelon | Dota 2 | $397,072.94 |
| Karl | Karl Jayme | Dota 2 | $325,796.67 |
As you can see from the table above, there is plenty of money to be made by playing eSports; undoubtedly, the highest-paying game is Dota 2. All of the top-ten richest Filipino players of all time have earned their prize money from the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game.
Sports Betting Philippines – Other Popular eSport Games
You might think by looking at our previous table that to make money playing video games, you must play Dota 2, and while it’s true that all of the top-ten richest Filipino players of all time made their money from Dota 2, there are alternatives.
Gilbert Rojo, who has the player ID Xplosive, narrowly missed the top ten with career earnings of $305,800.00. He made almost three-quarters of his income (73.43%) by playing Gears of War 4. While Jake Puchero, player ID Xmithie, made $260,170.90 by playing League of Legends.
Other games played by the Top 100 highest earners in eSports for the Philippines include Hearthstone, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Call of Duty: Mobile and CrossFire.
