If there's one esports athlete who is well known by everyone regardless of the game they play, it has to be Johan “N0tail” Sundstein.
From a relatively unknown player, N0tail became an esports celebrity. As the captain and leader of OG, he led his team to win two years in a row in The International (TI), Dota 2's grandest tournament.
Winning TI is already a great feat on its own. But N0tail and co. did so twice, back-to-back; the only people to have done so in history. And along with the glory and fame that comes with their success, N0tail also accumulated a huge sum of prize earnings throughout the years.
We explore how much N0tail has earned from his Dota 2 career.
N0tail's net worth in 2020: $6.9 million
Born on October 8, 1993 in Denmark, N0tail started competing at the age of 15 in the game Heroes of Newerth (HoN). But when tides changed and fortunes seemed to favor Dota 2, he switched titles.
Notail easily picked up on the game and went on to become one of Dota 2's best core players. He became well-known for using a high-skill ceiling hero called Meepo, which required intense micro-management skills. While he was good at carrying games behind his back, he didn't hesitate to move to the support role when his team needed him to. It was in this position that he found the most success with OG.
N0tail founded OG with his best friend, Tal “Fly” Aizik, with whom he had a team with before while still in HoN. Even prior to winning TI, OG was already considered one of the best teams in the world. Different iterations of the team won major championships all around the globe, and in all versions of the team, N0tail was in them.
However, just months before TI8, the team started losing their step and found themselves in a rut. This led Fly and one other player in OG to leave the team abruptly. This devastated N0tail, as he lost his best friend and was left with a dysfunctional team just months before the biggest esports tournament of their careers.
Throughout the years with OG and even prior, N0tail's skills led to successful tournament runs. As of 2020, he has won more than $6.9 million across more than 60 high-level tournaments, making him the top-earning esports athlete in the world.
The team nobody believed in
Winning the grandest tournament in Dota 2 turn people millionaires overnight. And for a team to have done so twice, it's no secret that OG has made a fortune from playing Dota 2. In 2018, N0tail led a ragtag group of players that no one took seriously to win The International, simply a few months since they played together for the first time.
N0tail led a team that a lot of people didn't have faith in. Prior to TI, N0tail has played with Anathan “ana” Pham and Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka for a few years already. However, people see ana as a highly-skilled player who never reaches his full potential. JerAx has gained the respect of many players, even being considered as the best position 4 support in Dota 2, but his success wasn't seen as a sure indicator of OG winning.
Meanwhile, two players joined OG just months prior TI. These were OG's former coach, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs, who returned from retirement to fill in holes in the team's roster. The other one was Topias “Topson” Taavitsen, a complete nobody that everyone saw as a random placement just to complete a full roster.
Becoming Dota 2 gods
But in the grandest stage of Dota 2, OG proved their doubters wrong. They dominated the tournament, going on to beat the Chinese team PSG.LGD in a nail-biting 5-game series. The crew achieved what many thought was impossible: winning TI with a hastily-built team. For this feat, OG took home over $11 million.
The very next year, OG decided to stick together and have another shot at the title. In The International 2019, they achieved what no other team has done before: win TI twice. In the Grand Final, two former champions faced each other, as OG went against Team Liquid, the 2017 champions. But OG triumphed, adding icing to the cake as they won back-to-back championships.
For their second championship, OG won $15.6 million. Between the two TIs, the team shared $26.8 million amongst themselves, with N0tail alone bringing home over $5 million.
With this championship alone, N0tail and his five teammates instantly set the record for winning the most amount of money in a single tournament, even when you divide the prize money evenly across them. But with their two championships, N0tail, JerAx, ana, Ceb, and Topson rose to the top of the list, becoming the highest-earning esports athletes of all time.
OG's Flower
Apart from being a very talented player and capable captain of OG, fans also refer to N0tail as OG's “flower“. This is because of his very down-to-earth personality, who never lost his humility in spite of his successes. He's also known for valuing friendship and having a very cordial relationship with his teammates. In-game, he exhibits coolness that never disappears, even during the most intense matches. His positive attitude had a very positive impact on his teammates, allowing them to play to their full potential. Outside the game, he's also very friendly towards fans, and is known to be one of the sweetest players in the industry.
Now, with two TI titles under his belt, N0tail continues to play competitively. While his long-time teammates ana and JerAx already decided to retire, N0tail isn't showing any signs of stopping soon. Instead, after winning TI twice, he immediately set his eyes on his next goal: winning TI thrice. Only time will tell if N0tail can continue to build on upon his legacy.
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