Social media stars are the ones who have a massive fan following on different virtual platforms. Instagram is one of the most popular social media among gamers and influencers. Various gamers are resorting to Instagram to promote their fan pages and work. Social media is slowly building an inevitable influence over the gaming community. People are always looking for the most followed gaming stars. Beginners with little knowledge about the game and looking to idolize someone will most likely go for the most popular gamer. Like any other sports, gamers enjoy a celebrity status among their fans. Professional gamers are nothing short of athletes these days. With the growing culture of social media promotions and brand endorsements, the one with more fan following will likely cash in more cash from paid partnerships.
Pro Gamers As Esports Influencers
Sometimes professional gamers also serve as esports influencers. Who are these esports influencers? Mostly gamers with a background of professional gaming who has substantial fan following can act as an esports influencer. The role of an esports influencer is to influence common people into purchasing various esports merchandise and follow the game.
They motivate beginners to take up the game seriously and prepare to climb up the ranks. Popular esports influencers today are Peter “ppd” Dagger, Matthew “FormaL” Piper, Rick Fox, and Artour “Arteezy” Babaev. Arteezy and ppd are famous DOTA 2 players, while FormaL is a Call of Duty Champion. Rick Fox is a Canadian businessman, actor, and retired basketball player too. So modern esports greats can be a great role model for the upcoming generation. However, The players with the most fan following on social media vary across platforms.
Most Followed Esports Stars On Instagram
Instagram is one of the most popular platforms to post stories and share various moments with fans. Popular esports stars have noted a significant rise in their followers count over the past year. One of the reasons behind such an activity can be the ongoing pandemic restrictions. Due to stay-at-home orders, people have started to have a more elongated social media presence. Thus with more on-screen time, following and stalking celebrities become a habit. People generally follow someone who is already a popular figure among others. Budding gamers look up to the esports stars as their icons and aspire to become like them. The most followed esports stars on Instagram are:-
Turner “Tfue” Tenney
Tfue is the highest followed esports player on Instagram. He has over 5.5 million followers on Instagram. The number is huge and speaks volumes of his popularity among the social media crowd. Additionally, he is a popular Fortnite player. Although it’s been only a year that he has entered the high-level games, he has gained quite the fan following courtesy of his cheeky gameplay and publicity in social media. He also has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube. His overall tournament winnings correspond to $602,550.
Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson
Mongraal is the next in line after Tfue for the competition of highest followed esports stars. He has over 3.8 million followers on Instagram. He is also a popular Fortnite player and found success at just the age of 13. In addition, he is a popular influencer over the various streaming platforms. Kyle is famous for streaming Fornite games and creating unique course paths for gamers to follow. His overall earnings are $567,454.
Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf
Kyle Giersdorf is a very famous name among recent esports enthusiasts. The 17-year-old is one of the youngest esports champions and won millions of dollars in the Fortnite world cup. As a result, his fan following on social media has gone up considerably. He is one of the gifted Fortnite players who aspire o be the best in the game. His fans also share the same mutual respect and passion for the game. He has over 3.3 million followers on Instagram. Kyle also has 4.46 million followers on twitch, where he streams his gameplays. His total tournament earnings till now are $3,061,967.
Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostylev
S1mple is a very popular CS: GO professional who plays for team Natus Vincere. In the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, S1mple is considered to be one of the best. He also has a substantial followers count on various social media platforms. On Instagram, he has a follower count of 887K. S1mple has many personal and team achievements in the game he loves the most. He has total tournament earnings of $640,669. He is one of the topmost esports stars on Instagram.
Read: How Pro Gaming Has Affected Technological Advancements
Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo
Gabriel Toledo is a popular Counter-Strike: Global offensive player of Brazilian nationality. His gameplay style and unique gunmanship in the virtual game have acquired him many followers on social media. FalleN currently has more than 821K followers on Instagram. His total tournament earnings as of now are $1,045,584. He has also been voted the most influential person in Brasilain esports.
Jaroslaw “pashaBiceps” Jarzabkowski
pashaBiceps is very popular among various fitness enthusiasts as well as budding gamers. He is an esports star who is mainly popular for streaming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive content on the internet. He now professionally streams for Team Liquid. His unique playing style and bulky biceps are the main attractions of the stream. He has over 597K fans on Instagram. The total tournament earnings of pashaBiceps are $623,973.
Marcelo “coldzera” David
Coldzera is considered one of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players in the game’s history. HLTV has ranked him number 1 for two years in succession from 2016-2017. He has over 577K followers on Instagram, and it is still growing. Marcelo uses yellow-colored cross-hair settings, which is very popular among his stream followers. Coldzera has won over $988,381 in total tournament earnings.
Daniil “Zeus” Teslenko
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players are dominating the list of most followed esports stars on Instagram. Zeus is a former Ukrainian CS: GO player with exceptional battle skills. In his 17 years long career, he has won over 60 tournaments and acquired a massive fan following. He has over 560K fans on Instagram. In addition, Zeus has collected over $792,146 through overall tournament earnings.
Dmitri “Mitr0” Van de Vrie
Mitr0 is a competitive Fortnite: Battle Royal player who has a widespread fan following across the globe. He belongs to the Netherlands and is one of the top esports players in his country. Mitr0 has over 538K followers on Instagram. The dutch esports star is very famous among Fortnite enthusiasts. He has secured over $696,600 through tournament earnings.
Seth “Scump” Abner
Scump is an American esports player with a huge fan following. He is a professional Call of Duty player and currently plays for Optic Chicago. Scump has over 502K followers on Instagram. The American esports star is quite the influencer on social media. Many Call of Duty enthusiasts in America looks up to Scump as their idol. He has won over $701,060 in tournament earnings.
There are many other influencers and gaming stars who carry heavy fan following on social media. Ideally, these esports stars influence other gamers and budding talents to pursue their dream. However, having a huge follower list also adds to one’s responsibility to carry all expectations and aspirations.
