Esports is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although organized competitions have long been a part of video game culture, these were largely between amateurs until the late 2000s, when participation by professional gamers and spectatorship in these events through live streaming saw a large surge in popularity. By the 2010s, esports was a significant factor in the video game industry, with many game developers actively designing and providing funding for tournaments and other events.
Manuel Schenkhuizen, also known as Grubby, is a Dutch real-time strategy gamer and former professional esports player. He competed in the RTS games Warcraft III (WC3), Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and Starcraft II. Grubby is the most successful WC3 player of all time, as an Orc player, having won more than 38 LAN tournaments, of which six were World Championships. His command over the Horde placed him early enough among the elite of the WC3 players, while his clash with Jang "Spirit Moon" Jae-ho rewarded him with a legendary status among the fans of the game. Grubby has been known for being part of one of the most successful WC3 teams in history, namely the British 4Kings. Later teams include the Danish MeetYourMakers and the North American Evil Geniuses. Grubby is widely regarded as one of the greatest Orc players of all time. Grubby is now a popular full-time streamer on Twitch.
Jang Jae-ho is a South Korean professional gamer of the popular Blizzard real-time strategy games Warcraft III and StarCraft II. He is seen by many as the best Night Elf player in the world. Jang Jae-ho is a five time world champion and has won three televised national Korean WarCraft III Championships as well as four seasons of MBCGame's World War. He is particularly known for his excellent micromanagement and innovative strategies. He is often seen using strategies that later set the benchmark for many Night Elf players and was nicknamed the "5th Race" by Gametv.com. He has played and won more televised WarCraft III games than any other Warcraft III players. Jang Jae-ho is featured in the documentary film Beyond the Game. Moon transitioned to StarCraft II and without a team for a while, and later retired from professional gaming in order to fulfill South Korean military service requirements. Moon has returned to Warcraft 3 and is still actively playing.
Fnatic is a professional esports organization headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Founded 23 July 2004, the team has players from around the world, across a variety of games, such as Apex Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, FIFA, Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, Valorant and Rainbow Six Siege.
Dignitas, formerly known as Team Dignitas, is a professional esports organization based in Newark, New Jersey, founded by Michael "ODEE" O'Dell on 9 September 2003 as a merger of two top Battlefield 1942 clans. Dignitas was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers in September 2016. The team is best known for its League of Legends, Rocket League, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squads.
Team Liquid is a multi-regional professional esports organization based in the Netherlands that was founded in 2000. With the release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Team Liquid signed their first professional players.
Evil Geniuses (EG) is an American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Fortnite Battle Royale, Halo,League of Legends, StarCraft II, Rocket League, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, and World of Warcraft.
The League Championship Series (LCS) is the top level of professional League of Legends in the United States and Canada. The esports league is run by Riot Games and has ten franchise teams. Each annual season of competition is divided into two splits, spring and summer, which conclude with a double-elimination tournament between the top eight teams. At the end of the season, the winner, runners-up and third-place team of the summer playoffs qualify for the annual League of Legends World Championship.
Team SoloMid (TSM), officially Team SoloMid FTX, is a professional esports organization based in the United States. It was founded in September 2009 by Andy "Reginald" Dinh. TSM currently fields players in League of Legends, Apex Legends, Valorant, Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros., Fortnite, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, PUBG Mobile, Battlegrounds Mobile India, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Magic: The Gathering Arena, and chess. The organization previously had a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team based in Denmark that later became Astralis and also briefly owned an Overwatch team.
Cloud9 Esports, Inc., or simply Cloud9 (C9), is an American professional esports company based in Santa Monica, California. The company was originally founded as a professional League of Legends team founded by Jack and Paullie Etienne in May 2013 and was incorporated into Cloud9 Esports, Inc. on September 6, 2016. Cloud9 has received US$78 million in total raised equity via venture capital funding and was ranked the world's second-most valuable esports organization in 2020.
Winterfox (WFX) was an esports organization with teams competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Halo and Street Fighter. The team was founded after the Evil Geniuses League of Legends team split from the organization following the creation of a new sponsorship rule for the League of Legends Championship Series, and the team later expanded into other games. Winterfox signed Super Smash Bros. Melee Sheik player DaJuan "Shroomed" Jefferson McDaniel on July 16, 2015. The Winterfox Halo team competes in the Halo Championship Series. Winterfox signed fighting games player Gustavo "801 Strider" Romero to the team on July 15, 2015. In November 2015 Winterfox's CSGO team moved to SteelSeries's headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. Winterfox's League of Legends team competed in the North American League of Legends Championship Series in for the 2015 Spring NA LCS split before being relegated and eventually disbanding.
Henrik Hansen, better known by his in-game name Froggen, is a Danish professional League of Legends player who plays as a Mid Laner. Currently a free agent, over the course of his career he has also played for CLG.EU, Evil Geniuses, Alliance, Elements, Origen, Echo Fox, the Golden Guardians and Dignitas. Anivia is considered his signature champion.
The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) is the professional League of Legends esports league run by Riot Games in Europe, in which ten teams compete. Each annual season of play is divided into two splits, spring and summer, both consisting of nine weeks of round-robin tournament play, which then conclude with play-off tournaments between the top six teams. At the end of the season, the top performing teams qualify for the annual League of Legends World Championship. The LEC represents the highest level of League of Legends play in Europe.
G2 Esports is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, and iRacing. The organization was founded in Spain on 24 February 2014 as Gamers2 by former League of Legends pro Carlos "Ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago and investor Jens Hilgers. The organization rebranded as G2 Esports on 15 October 2015.
Gambit Esports, formerly Gambit Gaming, is a Russian esports organization owned by telecommunications company MTS. It was established in January 2013 after the acquisition of the former League of Legends roster of Moscow Five.
Team Envy is an American esports franchise based in Dallas, Texas and is owned by Envy Gaming. Founded in 2007 as a professional Call of Duty team, they have since gone to field rosters in Counter-Strike, FIFA, Fortnite, Gears of War, Halo, League of Legends, Chess, Magic: the Gathering, Overwatch, Paladins, PUBG, Rocket League, SMITE, StarCraft, Super Smash Bros. and Street Fighter.
Immortals is a professional esports organization based in the United States owned by Immortals Gaming Club. It was founded on October 7, 2015, after the acquisition of Team 8's LCS spot.
Unicorns of Love (UOL) is a professional esports organisation based in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 15 August 2013 and has rosters competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends.
Team ROCCAT was a German professional esports organization with players competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, and StarCraft II. Its titular sponsor was the German computer accessories manufacturer Roccat GmbH, which was acquired by Turtle Beach in 2019.
Danil Reshetnikov, better known by his in-game name Diamondprox, is a Russian professional League of Legends player who is the jungler for Brazil's FURIA Esports. He is best known for his time playing as the jungler for Gambit Esports. He previously played for Team Empire, Moscow Five, the Unicorns of Love and Apex Gaming. Diamondprox hails from Saint Petersburg and is one of the world's most well-known junglers, known for his prowess on champions such as Lee Sin in Season 2, and innovating the popular Season 3 jungle play of Nasus and Xin Zhao. Diamondprox became known in the high elo ladders of League of Legends around the end of Season 1 and start of pre-Season 2.
