Six of gaming and esports’ biggest names have made the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2020 Sports & Games list, including YouTuber Sean ‘Jacksepticeye’ McLoughlin, Astralis’ Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz, and G2’s Marcin ‘Jankos’ Jankowski.
The Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which started in 2011, is a prestigious award across all the industries it covers. While it was exclusive to America originally, it branched out to recognize rising stars across the world.
In Europe, 300 people are selected across 10 categories, including 30 in the Sports & Games section. Competing with some of traditional sports biggest names, six esports and gaming stars were acknowledged for their achievements in their respective titles.
YouTuber ‘Jacksepticeye’ is the first streamer to make the 30 Under 30 Games Europe list.
With over 23 million subscribers, the 30-year-old is one of the biggest content creators on the platform, and has made waves outside of YouTube after starting up a clothing line.
Forbes estimated McLoughlin made $11 million in 2019, claiming the spot as the eight highest-paid gamer on their lists.
Yesterday I was honoured to join the forbes 30 under 30 list. This is such a crazy club to be part of and I am eternally grateful for all the good that has come my way! Thank you.https://t.co/dPcMwXfu42
— Jacksepticeye (@Jacksepticeye) March 18, 2020
Heralded as one of CS:GO’s best players for years, Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz has now been noticed in the mainstream with his appearance on the Forbes list as well.
The 24-year-old has been at the forefront of Astralis’ dominance in the Valve title, winning 15 MVP awards across his career. He has also featured on HLTV’s Top 20 CS:GO player list for the last six years, not placing below fifth since 2015.
Fellow AWPer and CS:GO veteran Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer Gustafsson was also listed after netting his 25th trophy in the game at Blast Copenhagen 2019, making him the winningest player in the title’s history.
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In League of Legends, two players were acknowledged by Forbes in 2020 — G2 Esports jungler Marcin ‘Jankos’ Jankowski, and 2011 world champion Enrique ‘xPeke’ Cedeño.
Jankos was a big part of G2’s almost-flawless year in 2019, having led the team to two domestic LEC titles, an MSI win, and second place at Worlds.
On the other side, xPeke was earmarked for the award after going from pro player to org owner, founding Origen while he was still playing on the team.
- Read more: When is the LEC and LCS coming back?
Lastly, Niclas ‘Pengu’ Mouritzen is the first Rainbow Six star to be recognized by Forbes any list. The two-time Six Invitational champion is the most decorated Siege player in history, and widely considered to be the game’s best player.
They join an illustrious group of gaming stars who have been recognized by the media company.
In 2019, eight players across League of Legends, CS:GO, and other esports titles were named on the European list, including Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther, Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund, and Carlos ‘ocelote’ Rodriguez.
In America, Fortnite’s Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf and Soleil ‘Ewok’ Wheeler were named in 2020’s list alongside fighting game star Dominique ‘Sonicfox’ McLean.
You can find the full 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Sports & Games list here:
Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2020 Sports & Games list
- Hector Bellerin, Defender for Arsenal
- Sky Brown, Skateboarder
- Magnus Carlsen, Grandmaster chess player
- Enrique Cedeño, Founder of Origen
- Kadeena Cox, Parasport athlete
- Tom Daley, Olympic diver
- Liam de Valmency, Senior Principal Programmer at Media Molecule
- Jas Dhatt, Lead 3D Character Artist at Creative Assembly
- Luka Doncic, Point Guard for Dallas Mavericks
- Simona Halep, Tennis athlete
- Henrik Harlaut, Olympic skiier
- Ada Hederberg, Forward for Olympique Lyonnais
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Olympic runner
- Marcin Jankowski, League of Legends player for G2 Esports
- Roman Josi, Defenseman for Nashville Predators
- Olof Kajbjer Gustafsson, CS:GO player for FaZe Clan
- Catarina Macedo, Program Manager at Xbox
- Sean McLoughlin, YouTuber
- Vivianne Miedema, Forward for Arsenal Women
- Kristof Milak, Olympic swimmer
- Tyrone Mings, Defender for Aston Villa
- Niclas Mouritzen, Rainbow Six: Siege player for G2 Esports
- George Perkins, Managing Director of Super Rare Games
- Nicolai Reedtz, CS:GO player for Astralis
- Jan Rosner, Senior Business Development Manager at CD Projekt Red
- Bjarke Felbo and Sanjay Guruprasad, Co-founders of Rune
- Anisa Sanusi, Lead UI/UX Designer at Netspeak Games
- Fallon Sherrock, Darts player
- Elina Svitolina, Tennis athlete
- Lana Zgombic, Producer at Bossa Studios
