TenZ : "In Valorant , pro players' salaries don't even come close to what CS players earn"
Former Cloud9 player and now retired professional Valorant player Tyson " TenZ " Ngo shared unexpected details about salaries in Valorant . During a recent stream, he answered a viewer's question about which discipline brings more money to professional players — CS or Valorant .
Valorant vs. CS: What You Need to Know
TenZ is one of the most well-known esports players who has built a career in both disciplines. He started with CS:GO but switched to Valorant in 2020, playing for Cloud9 and Sentinels. With Sentinels, he won the first major international tournament VCT Masters Reykjavík 2021, as well as the VCT Masters Madrid 2024. However, he retired from professional play in 2024. Now, being "retired," he can afford to speak more openly about the inner aspects of the scene.
Salaries in CS and Valorant : TenZ 's Opinion
During the stream, a viewer asked: "Which pays more, CS or Valorant to pros?"
TenZ answered without hesitation:
"I will tell you CS for sure. At Valorant , I mean, like, in terms of salary, yeah, pros don’t really make anything close to what CS players are making." - TenZ
His words confirm the opinion that CS, especially after the transition to CS2 , remains a more profitable discipline for esports players. Besides the financial aspect, TenZ also commented on the popularity of both games in different regions:
"I’m a big CS glazer but Valorant has more global reach, it’s just CS is more timeless and is larger in Europe , especially in CIS. CS is pretty dead for NA, I think it’s decent size for SA tho. In Asia, Valorant clears CS for sure." - TenZ
TenZ 's statement confirms that despite Valorant 's popularity, it has not yet reached the financial level of CS. Riot Games is actively developing the discipline, but in terms of salaries and contracts, it still lags behind. This is especially important for players who are choosing which discipline to build their careers in. If Valorant is indeed more popular in Asia and North America, this could influence the further development strategy of Riot and ESL, which control the ecosystems of both games.
