A new study from PriceSpy.co.uk, looks at 60 of the world’s best e-sport professionals and reveals the true cost to compete.
- The average e-sport professional regularly spends £781 on the latest gaming accessories
- The £781 comes from an average spend of a mouse (£80), mousepad (£21), monitor (£476), keyboard (£117), and a headset (£87)
- As wireless products become more advanced, professional gamers are beginning to integrate them into their setup – 50% of surveyed Valorant players have a wireless mouse
- Every gaming professional said they use a mechanical keyboard and 97% currently have a 240 Hz monitor.
For professional e-sports players, the right set-up can mean the difference between a victory and a defeat. Not only does this mean having a top-of-the-range computer with the right graphics card and CPU. Other important factors include a monitor’s refresh rate, the sensitivity of a mouse, plus the speed and customisability of a mechanical keyboard.
Independent comparison service, PriceSpy.co.uk, spoke to 60 of the world’s top e-sport professionals in Counter:Strike Global Offensive and Valorant, to find out which accessories they’re using at the moment.
The e-sports professional setup
The study reveals that e-sport professionals spend an average of £781 on just a mouse, mousepad, monitor, keyboard and headset.
Ninjas in Pyjamas team member, Fredrik “REZ” Sterner, doesn’t believe this high cost is always necessary. REZ said: “Having top of the range gear is important for a professional. But to spend that kind of money isn’t necessary if you’re at the beginning of your career or if you’re just playing for fun. If you are looking to buy new equipment, always try out the product before purchasing it. An expensive buy doesn’t necessarily mean the best result.”
Among the study’s Counter-Strike professionals, only one is using a wireless product: a headset that costs £259. Valorant players are much more likely to embrace wireless tech with 50% of surveyed players using a wireless mouse.
Ossie Bayram, commercial director at PriceSpy said: “The fact that players are even considering buying a wireless mouse means that the technology has become much more reliable. In professional gaming, milliseconds can mean the difference between victory and defeat, especially when it comes to mouse and keyboard sensitivity.
“However, even though wireless products are becoming more reliable, at the top end they are much more expensive than wired versions. If you want a professional level performance for a lower price, then stick with wired products.”
Mouse sensitivity is a key factor for gamers and is measured in dots per linear inch (DPI). Surprisingly, the study shows that the professional players don’t need the highest DPI possible. The most popular max DPI among professionals is 3,200.
Effective dots per inch (eDPI) gives a better idea of true mouse sensitivity. eDPI is calculated by multiplying the mouse DPI with the in-game sensitivity. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, professionals are playing with an average eDPI of 859.06 while Valorant professionals have an average eDPI of 235.46.
Top picks among Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant pros:
| Item | Top pick | Cheapest price on PriceSpy.co.uk |
| Mouse | Zowie by BenQ EC2 | £87.72 |
| Mousepad | SteelSeries QcK+ | £13.11 |
| Monitor | Zowie by BenQ XL2546 | £448.99 |
| Keyboard | Logitech G Pro | £100.00 |
| Headset | HyperX Cloud II | £64.99 |
About the study
PriceSpy has gathered information about what equipment 60 of the world’s best e-sport professionals are using, including 50 Counter-Strike:Global Offensive pros and 10 Valorant pros. The surveyed teams include Astralis, Team Liquid, Fnatic, Dignitas, FaZe Clan, GODSENT, Cloud9, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team SoloMid and Immortals.
Information about the equipment was collected from Liquipedia the 5th of August 2020, while prices were collected from PriceSpy the 13th of August 2020.
About PriceSpy
PriceSpy is a comprehensive price & product comparison service used by millions of consumers every month. It helps consumers find, discover, research and compare products.
PriceSpy has 5,520,000 indexed prices, 829,000 products, 6,910,000 product properties, along with hundreds of thousands of product and shop ratings. Providing a fully impartial comparison service for consumers and a deep depository of price data for retailers.
Prisjakt launched in the year 2000 and is Sweden’s largest price comparison service. The service is known in Sweden and Norway as Prisjakt, and in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand as PriceSpy.
