Counter-Strike 2 keeps growing. It is now one of the biggest esports in the world. More than 903 tournaments have already been played. The total prize money across all of them has passed $52 million. In this article, we look at the 10 teams that have earned the most prize money in CS2 history.
10 — Aurora Gaming ($1,091,200 | 48 Tournaments)
Aurora Gaming are the newest team on this list. They are also one of the biggest surprises in CS2 right now. For a long time, they competed at mid-level events. Then they started beating top teams. Their best result came at BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026. They finished 3rd-4th and knocked out The MongolZ in the quarterfinals. That win turned heads. Passing $1 million in prize money across only 48 tournaments shows how far they have come in a short time.
Key achievements:
- 3rd-4th place at BLAST Open Spring 2026
- 3rd-4th place at IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage 3
9 — FURIA ($1,632,528 | 54 Tournaments)
FURIA are on this list for the first time. They replaced Virtus.pro and Eternal Fire from the previous edition. The second half of 2025 was their best period. They won four events in a row — IEM Chengdu, Thunderpick World Championship, and BLAST Rivals Fall were the biggest ones. Signing molodoy changed how the team plays. He gave them a serious AWP threat they didn't have before. In 2026, FalleN is playing his final professional season. That makes every result feel more meaningful. Fifty-four tournaments across multiple regions is one of the busiest schedules on this list.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025
- 1st place at Thunderpick World Championship 2025
- 1st place at BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
- 2nd place at IEM Cologne Major 2026
8 — Team Falcons ($1,972,771 | 41 Tournaments)
Falcons almost doubled their prize money since the last edition. They went from $992,550 to nearly $2 million. That is a big jump. And it happened fast.
It started with roster moves. Signing NiKo and m0NESY in 2025 made the team much stronger. Results at big events got better almost immediately. Then in 2026, karrigan became the IGL. That changed how the team operated. Under his leadership, Falcons reached two grand finals in the first half of the year. They also won IEM Cologne Major 2026. That was their biggest result ever.
They also do not play that many tournaments. Only 41 events total. That is one of the lowest numbers on this list. But they still earned nearly $2 million. That makes their prize money per tournament ratio one of the best in the entire scene.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at PGL Bucharest 2025
- 2nd place at ESL Pro League Season 22
- 2nd place at BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
- 1st place at IEM Cologne Major 2026
7 — G2 Esports ($2,108,950 | 44 Tournaments)
G2 dropped one place since the last ranking. They earned more prize money than before, but other teams earned even more. Things also got harder after NiKo and m0NESY left for Falcons. The team had to rebuild. Results in 2025 were not always consistent. Some events went well. Others did not. But G2 kept showing up at big BLAST and ESL tournaments. That kept the prize money coming in. Their 2024 wins at IEM Dallas and BLAST Premier World Final gave them a strong financial base to build on.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at IEM Dallas 2024
- 1st place at BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024
- 1st place at BLAST Premier World Final 2024
- 1st place at BLAST Open Fall 2025
- 5th-8th place at IEM Cologne Major 2026
6 — FaZe Clan ($2,271,375 | 41 Tournaments)
FaZe stayed in sixth place. But the teams above them are pulling away. The gap is getting bigger.
Their best days were in 2023. That year they won three big events. IEM Sydney. Thunderpick World Championship. CS Asia Championships. Those wins built a strong base. Then in 2024 they kept it going. They reached the PGL Copenhagen Major final. That added a lot to their total prize money.
Since then things have been harder. 2025 and 2026 brought less consistent results. They still make it to playoff stages at big events. That keeps money coming in. But winning titles has become more difficult.
The numbers still look good though. Forty-one tournaments for $2.27 million is impressive. Very few teams earn that much from so few events. FaZe know how to go deep when it matters. That efficiency keeps them on this list.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at IEM Sydney 2023
- 1st place at Thunderpick World Championship 2023
- 2nd place at IEM Katowice 2024
- 2nd place at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
- 1st place at IEM Chengdu 2024
- 2nd place at StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
5 — The MongolZ ($2,423,287 | 44 Tournaments)
The MongolZ moved up two places since the last ranking. They passed both FaZe and G2. That is a big jump. And they earned it.
The numbers tell the story. Forty-four tournaments. Consistent deep runs. Prize money that kept building event after event. They never had one massive payday that carried them up the list. They just kept showing up and kept winning matches.
The MongolZ are now one of the strongest Asian teams in CS2 history. That was not always obvious. For a long time Asian teams struggled against European opposition at the biggest events. The MongolZ changed that. They beat top European teams regularly. They do it with discipline, strong teamwork, and confidence in big moments.
Their greatest result came at the Esports World Cup 2025. Winning that event proved they belong at the very top of the global scene. Not just as a regional force. As a genuine world-class team.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at YaLLa Compass 2024
- 1st place at Thunderpick World Championship 2024
- 2nd place at BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
- 1st place at Esports World Cup 2025
4 — Natus Vincere ($2,617,200 | 66 Tournaments)
NAVI are fourth. They have played 66 tournaments. That is the same as Team Spirit and more than any other team on this list. The number makes sense when you know how NAVI work. They do not pick and choose events. They compete everywhere. Prize money builds up through consistency, not through selectivity. Their best year was 2024. In one single season they won the PGL Copenhagen Major, Esports World Cup, ESL Pro League Season 20, and IEM Rio. Four massive results in twelve months. That run gave them a financial base that still holds them in fourth place today.
In 2026 they kept performing. They reached the grand final of IEM Atlanta and won ESL Pro League Season 23. NAVI are not the dominant force they were in 2024. But they keep going deep. And the prize money keeps coming.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
- 1st place at Esports World Cup 2024
- 1st place at ESL Pro League Season 20
- 1st place at IEM Rio 2024
- 1st place at ESL Pro League Season 23
- 1st place at IEM Atlanta 2026
3 — MOUZ ($2,700,038 | 58 Tournaments)
MOUZ moved up one place. They also passed $2.7 million in total prize money. That is a big number for a team that has never won a Major. But that is exactly how MOUZ works. They do not rely on one big win. They rely on showing up consistently. Fifty-eight tournaments. Deep playoff runs. Semifinal finishes at almost every big event. It adds up over time.
In 2025, they won two important trophies. ESL Pro League Season 19 and PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 were their biggest results of the cycle. xertioN and Spinx are both capable of dominating on their best days. When they are in form, few players in the world can match them individually.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at ESL Pro League Season 19
- 1st place at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024
- 2nd place at IEM Cologne 2025
- 1st place at PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025
2 — Team Spirit ($4,374,451 | 66 Tournaments)
Team Spirit remain second but the gap to Vitality has widened significantly — from roughly $1.2 million in the previous edition to over $2.3 million now. Spirit's model is total volume: 66 tournaments, the most of any team on this list, combined with a win rate that would be impressive at half that number. donk's individual dominance gives the team a ceiling that no other organization can match on their best day. Their 2024 campaign — winning the Perfect World Shanghai Major, BLAST Premier Spring Final, and BetBoom Dacha Belgrade twice — was one of the most financially successful single seasons any CS2 team has had. In 2026, Spirit won PGL Astana and reached the Semifinals of IEM Cologne Major before a famous exit.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at IEM Katowice 2024
- 1st place at BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024
- 1st place at Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
- 1st place at PGL Astana 2025
- 1st place at BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
- 3rd-4th place at IEM Cologne Major 2026
1 — Team Vitality ($6,684,250 | 41 Tournaments)
Vitality are not just first. They are in a completely different league. No other team is close to $6.6 million. And they did it in only 41 tournaments. That is the most efficient prize money record in CS2 history. After winning IEM Krakow 2026, apEX and ropz became the highest-earning players in Counter-Strike history. That one fact tells you everything about what this roster has built. The money they have accumulated is historic. Their dominance has been total. Five international trophies in the first half of 2026 alone. Back-to-back Major championships.
No team in CS2 has ever maintained this level for this long.The individual numbers are just as impressive. Only eight players in CS2 history have earned more than $2 million in prize money. Most of them play for Vitality. ZywOo, ropz, flameZ, apEX, and mezii have all crossed or are very close to that mark. This is not just the best team in CS2 right now. It is the best team CS2 has ever seen.
Key achievements:
- 1st place at BLAST Premier Fall Final 2023
- 1st place at BLAST Premier World Final 2023
- 1st place at IEM Cologne 2024
- 1st place at BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
- 1st place at StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
- 1st place at IEM Krakow 2026
- 1st place at BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026
The CS2 prize money landscape is consolidating at the top. Vitality's lead is structural — built on Major wins, ESL Grand Slam bonuses, and a consistency that no other team in the game's history has matched over a comparable period. Spirit remain the closest competitor but the gap is growing. The battle for positions three through ten is where the real movement is happening, with FURIA and Aurora Gaming entering the list for the first time and signaling that the era of a fixed elite is ending.
Follow the latest team earnings and tournament results on Bo3.gg.
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