Those leaderboards where the whales are competing for higher positions in the top ten are definitely unattainable for the low baller players out there, I can only guess the people on that list are millionaires if they are dropping tens of thousands of dollars a month. However that's life, there will always be some who have much more wealth than us and engage with entertainment at a much higher level.
With similar responsible gamblings, the rich can bet bigger than the poor as they are richer and affordable to spend bigger fund for gambling. Joining contests must be done responsibly too as if you have much smaller fund than other participants, you mist accept it and your incompetitiveness in that contest and move on.
It turns to be irresponsible participation if you leverage too much just because you don't afford your failure. It can result in a more severe failure in the future and know when to stop and move on is vital principle for your risk management.