Texas Gamer Wins $250,000, Crowned Best Madden Player in the World

(KNUE-FM) While video games have grown in popularity, it’s difficult to grasp that some games here in Texas are making hundreds of thousands of dollars — even millions — just by picking up their video game controller. I don’t want to discredit the work these gamers put in because it takes countless hours to become one of the best in the world like a 26-year-old in McKinney who was just crowned as the best Madden NFL player in the world.

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How Much Money Do Professional Gamers Make?

I’ve played the Madden NFL video game for decades, as that was always my favorite game growing up as we would have some heated battles between my brothers and me. But as we have gotten older we put the video games away. But maybe we should have tried harder as that Texas gamer I was telling you about recently won $250,000 at this year’s Madden Bowl.

You read that correctly, the best Madden gamer in the world lives in Texas and he recently won a quarter of a million dollars after he won the tournament. After winning the money he admitted that he had never had that type of money before.

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Who Is Drini Gjoka?

According to NBCDFW, Drini Gjoka is not just an average gamer as he has been playing professionally since graduating high school and has earned $760,000. So, while he won a lot of money recently, he has been a successful gamer for years.

The Rise of Esports Prize Money

Gjoka won the prize six years ago but the prize at that time was only $40,000. But as esports continues to gain in popularity, the prizes are increasing as well.

Before you start working to become a professional gamer Gjoka does admit that it takes lots of practice. When the new Madden 2027 comes out, it's common for him to play 10-12 hours a day working on new techniques to become better than everyone else.