Sergei Glamazda: “The CS transfer market has flown into space”

The head of the esports and gaming organization PARI Esports, Sergey Glamazda, disclosed the approximate annual cost of maintaining a competitive Counter-Strike 2 or Dota 2 team. In an interview with Cybersport.ru, Glamazda also noted the significant rise in player and staff salaries.

"For a single roster, you need about a million dollars per year on average. Around $500-600k will go towards salaries. Additional costs include travel, boot camps, and marketing activities to develop the brand. While you could assemble a team on a shoestring budget, a fully-fledged team aiming for significant achievements would require around $800k to $1 million.

Player and staff salaries have skyrocketed. The industry isn’t very large, so the expertise of staff and the quality of players have become much more expensive. What you pay now compared to five years ago is vastly different.

Currently, in the CIS region, players are earning $25k, $10k a month without necessarily winning major titles. A top-4 Dota player might earn $12-15k, while some get $25k.

Let’s look at the economics. Suppose an organization takes 15% of the prize money. For EWC, how much is that? If I win EWC, DreamLeague, and everything, I might earn $5.5 million. Taking 15% of that gives me $750k. Not a lot, right? You need a partner."

Glamazda also discussed the current state of the transfer market for Counter-Strike in the CIS. According to him, the market has inflated significantly due to stickers from the Paris Major.

"The CS transfer market has gone through the roof. There are transfers in the CIS costing over a million dollars. Five years ago, this was unheard of – it would have taken a prime s1mple to reach such sums. Now, some negotiations start at these amounts.

What happened? Here’s the explanation: the Paris Major saw sticker sales generate $2.5-3.5 million depending on the capsule. As an organization, you got half of that. One major brought $1.25-1.75 million into the budget. Voilà – sticker sales covered the team’s annual expenses. This inflated the market, which now operates on the assumption of earning $2.5 million annually.

However, stickers from PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 didn’t bring in as much: being in the 'legends' capsule fetched at most $900k, maybe a million, but the salary market was already inflated. Those who didn’t make it to the major are in a dire situation. Many global teams have been on the brink of bankruptcy over the years. FaZe, Heroic, Fnatic – numerous clubs just don’t have the money. They inflated salaries, hoping the market would support them, but sticker sales brought in less. To compensate, you turn to bookmakers."

Glamazda further explained why so many teams formed with the support of betting companies appeared on the professional scene at a certain point.

"Crypto no longer pays as much on the market. There was a time when it paid a lot, but those days are gone. So you go to bookmakers and say, 'I want a sponsorship package – $2.5-3.5 million.' The bookmaker looks at this, does the math, and realizes it’s more cost-effective to create their team. This is why we suddenly saw many bookmaker-supported teams. Organizations started asking for so much money that it became easier for bookmakers to assemble, maintain, and manage their rosters. It’s more economical than paying someone $2.5-3.5 million only to have them make roster changes two months later."

Last September, PARI created its own CS2 team, competing under the tag PARIVISION. Rumors suggest that former Cloud9 analyst Ivan "F_1N" Kochugov will soon join the team as a coach.