Dan “apEX” Madesclaire has been playing esports professionally since 2010, but has just enjoyed his most financially successful year.

The Counter-Strike 2 superstar has earned more than $500,000 in 2025 after clinching eight wins, including the Intel Grand Slam Season 5.

And the 32-year-old doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. In fact, he has told interviewers that the thought of not playing anymore scares him.

In our analysis, we explore the net worth of apEX, look at how he has earned his money, recall his early life and his lifestyle.

His real name is Dan Madesclaire, a 32-year-old Frenchman who’s known for playing Counter-Strike 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Counter-Strike: Source.

He has earned $2.16 million from 246 tournaments. This makes him the second most financially successful French gamer and 47th in the world, according to Esports Earnings.

We have based our estimate of his net worth on the $2.16 million he has earned in 246 Counter-Strike tournaments over the past 15 years.

However, his financial position has likely been boosted by different sources over the course of his long career.

Let’s take a look at apEX’s various revenue streams.

The most significant income source has been the $2.16 million he has earned from playing various professional Counter-Strike tournaments since 2010.

Of these 246 events, he has been champion 76 times, runner-up 38 times and placed third on 41 occasions, as of December 15, 2025.

His best year has been 2025, with $521,750 earned from 10 tournaments, at the time of writing. The next best year was 2023, in which he made $403,633.

As far as individual tournaments, the Intel Grand Slam Season 5 in 2025 was his most lucrative, yielding $200,000 in winnings.

Although apEX has played for several organisations during his career, he has been associated with Team Vitality since 2018.

Contract terms are rarely disclosed, but top esports players can earn up to $187,200 per year, according to a report from the Influencer Marketing Hub. 

They are also understood to benefit financially from endorsements and sponsorships arranged by their respective teams.

For example, Team Vitality recently earned more than $700,000 through ESL and BLAST 2025 incentive programmes.

According to its website, the team also has partnerships with companies including Stake, Skin.Club, Magnum, Hummel, and Aldi.

Streaming is a popular way for gamers to boost their income, and apEX is active on Twitch, where his account has 225,000 followers. 

Unfortunately, subscriber information isn’t available. However, earnings aren’t fixed anyway, as players often have individual contract terms.

Viewers can also send money in the form of tips, and many esports stars earn substantial sums from receiving such donations.

apEX is also active on YouTube. He currently has 53,600 subscribers and has posted 211 videos, with the most popular having more than 300,000 views.

Once again, the amount earned since he joined in January 2018 will depend on his agreement with the platform.

It’s unknown whether apEX has any external business ventures or prominent investments. If he does have them, then they don’t appear to be publicly recorded.

He was born in February 1993 and grew up in the small town of Charmes in the Vosges department of Northeastern France. 

As his parents split when he was two and a half years old, he was brought up by his mother and grandmother.

His mum, Nicole Wittman, said the young Dan was a child who always needed to be seen. She told an interviewer: “He wasn’t exactly top of the class, but he was a leader.”

This drive was demonstrated after he fell in love with Counter-Strike and would play in the nearby cybercafé until his mother picked him up at half past midnight.

His passion for gaming clashed with his studies and resulted in him failing the Baccalaureate, although he ended up starting an HND in Electrical Engineering.

Although the HND was going well, it coincided with his fledgling gaming career, which was beginning to pay off. He requested an adjustment to his academic schedule, but it was denied.

“I told her (mum) that I’m quitting school,” he recalled. “I said I’m giving it two years, but I think it’s going to take off, and if I really want to go for it, I need to start at once. She supported me.”

According to apEX, his mum’s ferocious support has been a constant in his life and particularly during his gaming career.

“It’s really important to have your family behind you,” he said. “My mother has been watching all my matches for the last 10 years. She sends me a message no matter what time it is.”

According to Liquipedia, apEX is the “most winning player” in Global Offensive and Counter-Strike 2 history, including four Majors and an ESL Grand Slam trophy.

“An entry fragger in the earlier days of Global Offensive, known for his aggression; he transitioned to the IGL role in March 2020 after ALEX’s departure from Team Vitality,” it said.

His first taste of real success came in 2010, playing Counter-Strike: Source when he was 17 years old.

He then moved on to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive a couple of years later and competed successfully for more than a decade. Since late 2023, he has played Counter-Strike 2.

While apEX has a packed work calendar, he has mentioned in interviews that he cherishes time with his close friends and family, as well as his dogs.

Watching football, eating out and drinking good wine are among his passions. “It’s all very important to me,” he told an interviewer. “I need all that to recharge my batteries.”

As far as spending is concerned, apEX hasn’t discussed major purchases, although his mum revealed he was very generous and even bought her a car to celebrate her wedding.

“That’s just the way he is,” she said in an interview. “He has to please. He has to give back. Sometimes I tell him it’s too much.”

On his Instagram account, which has 248,000 followers, apEX charts trips to Madagascar and Capri.

It’s unclear whether apEX supports a particular charity. However, Team Vitality runs its KARE project to support the Twisten Foundation, a mental health initiative. 

Last year, the team announced a merchandise collection through KARE that included a bag, hoodie, cap and t-shirt.  

Dan “apEX” Madesclaire’s $2.16 million net worth makes him the second most financially successful French gamer of all time. However, he’s quite a long way behind Sébastien “Ceb” Debsm, who has earned $5.9 million from playing Dota 2, but well ahead of Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut in third on $1.67 million.

On the all-time rich list, apEX ranks 47th. In the top spot is Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, who has made $7.2 million from Dota 2, followed by Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka on almost $6.5 million.

Very few gamers can boast more experience than Dan “apEX” Madesclaire. The French Counter-Strike star has been playing professionally since 2010.

He has earned $2.16 million over a successful 15-year career, during which he has secured 76 tournament victories, including four Majors.

While it’s unclear how many years apEX plans to continue playing, he will go down in history as one of the all-time greats of Counter-Strike.