Founded in 2000, Team Liquid was established in the Netherlands and has grown to become a multi-regional professional eSports organization.
Their journey into multi-genre eSports management didn’t begin until 2012, when they acquired a Dota 2 team from North America.
Since their inception, the Team Liquid League of Legends team has won four League Championship titles, whilst their CS:GO team won the coveted Intel Grand Slam prize award in 2019.
In 2017, the organization’s Dota 2 team won The International 2017- a Dota 2 eSports world championships – which had one of the largest prize pools of any eSports tournament ever (a whopping $11 million dollars!).
3. Fnatic
We’re going across the pond for this next eSports organization – Fnatic – which was founded in 2004 in the United Kingdom.
The organization houses multiple teams worldwide from across a wide range of games, including classic eSports games like Dota 2 and CS:GO and more modern eSports games such as Apex Legends and Valorant.
The very first League of Legends World Championship – held back in 2011 – was won by the Fnatic LoL team and they continued to hold onto the record of the most wins until 2020.
Their CS:GO team is thought to be one of the most successful of any eSports organization, winning three Major Championships as well as other tournaments.
4. FaZe Clan
Founded in 2010, FaZe Clan acts as an entertainment organization as well as an eSports one.
Based in Los Angeles, California, the organization is unique in that it has its beginnings in YouTube and was made up of a group of three Call of Duty players.
Their popularity only grew, leading them to venture out into the world of professional eSports.
Various teams began to compete under the FaZe name even though they weren’t part of the YouTube clan.
This led to a separation, with two camps of the FaZe Clan being established despite the lack of a corporate structure.
After the introduction of a shared gaming home and a significant investment from the former social media platform Hubrick, the clan began to introduce various eSports teams into the group and grew.
Ffrom there, they became the behemoth that they are today.
5. 100 Thieves
Another unique gaming organization, doubling as a brand of sorts, 100 Thieves LLC is known for having teams that compete in various games.
Based in LA, 100 Thieves was created by eSports athlete Matthew Haag, who was previously the captain of the Call of Duty team for OpTic gaming.
The organization has had some high profile support, with investments from the likes of rapper Drake. They also have managed to pin down some epic sponsors, such as Razer and Red Bull.
6. Team Vitality
This French eSports organization was founded in 2013 and has various professional teams that span across Europe and India.
Their League of Legends team regularly competes in the League of Legends European Championship and started doing so in 2015.
Their popularity only continues to expand, as shown in April 2021 when Team Vitality were able to partner with RC Strasbourg Alsace- a French association football club- to establish the FIFA eLeague 1 team.
7. OpTic Gaming
OpTic Gaming is an American eSports organization-based in Frisco, Texas.
Established in 2006 and previously competing in various games such as Fortnite, Gears of War 4 and League of Legends, the organization now focuses primarily on Call of Duty as well as Valorant and Halo.
The organization partnered with Envy Gaming in 2021, with OpTic taking the reins on Envy’s Halo division. Their Call of Duty skills are second to none, with the team taking home various wins in Call of Duty tournaments since 2011.
8. TSM
Team SoloMid- otherwise known as TSM- was founded in 2009 and is another LA based eSports organization.
TSM has players spread across a wide range of games, including Super Smash Brothers, Magic: The Gathering Arena, League of Legends, Apex Legends and more.
League of Legends is considered their main area of expertise, with the group winning seven of sixteen total splits of the North American League of Legends Championships series.
9. Gen.G ESports
Gen.G eSports has headquarters in Shanghai, China, Santa Monica, California and Seoul, South Korea.
The group has teams that partake in various games such as Overwatch, and NBA 2K. Gen.G is another relatively new addition to the eSports scene – established in 2017 – but it has risen to massive heights since then.
The company was even reported to be worth $185 million as of December 2020 and is one of the top ten most valuable eSports organizations in the world!
10. G2 Esports
Based in Berlin, Germany, European eSports organization G2 has won nine domestic titles in the world of competitive League of Legends, becoming the only Western team to be invited to the Mid-Seasonal Invitational Event in 2019.
They are also prominent in other video game eSports spheres, such as CS:GO, and Hearthstone.
Their Rainbow Six Siege team is particularly well known, competing in the European League and winning the Rainbow Six Major in 2018 as well as various other competitions.
Final Thoughts
There are a wide range of eSports teams and organizations out there, with these being just a few notable ones. As eSports and the gaming industry continues to grow, so will the organizations, businesses and competitions behind virtual sports.
My name is Ashley Newby and I want to put integrity back into esports and get the hype surrounding them paramount once more. During my teenage years, I happened to stumble across a Street Fighter tournament online and I was hooked.
From that day, I have kept up with and watched many tournaments including Valorant, Super Smash Bros, and League of Legends. I even got to compete in my first one earlier this year!
