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 eight 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 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.
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 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 fifth-most valuable esports organization in mid-2022.
Team Dragon Knights, briefly known as Team Arena Online, was an American professional League of Legends team. For most of its history the team competed in the North American League of Legends Challenger Series, but was briefly in the North American League of Legends Championship Series during the 2015 Summer Split before being relegated.
Enrique Cedeño Martinez, better known by his in-game name xPeke, is a retired professional League of Legends player. He was the founder and owner of Origen, which competed in the LEC, the top level of professional League of Legends in Europe. Martinez is best known for his spell with Fnatic, with whom he has won three League of Legends Championship Series Europe titles and the Season 1 World Championship.
Renegades is an American professional esports organization. It has teams competing in Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros., Rocket League, iRacing and Valorant. The organization previously had a League of Legends team that qualified for the 2016 North American League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), but it was sold to Team EnVyUs after the owners were banned from NA LCS ownership.
Gambit Esports, formerly Gambit Gaming, is an inactive 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.
Bora Kim, better known as YellOwStaR, is a French professional League of Legends player and coach. He has played and coached for several teams throughout his career, including Fnatic, SK Gaming, PSG Esports, against All authority, and Team SoloMid. YellOwStaR announced his retirement from professional play on 20 October 2016, but later announced his return on 13 January 2020 as a support for LDLC OL.
Raymond Ka-Sing Tsang, better known by his in-game name kaSing, is a British-Hong Kong professional League of Legends player who as of June 2020 plays as the support for Excel Esports' academy team, BT Excel.
Dennis Johnsen, better known as Svenskeren, is a Danish former professional League of Legends player. He has played for SK Gaming, Supa Hot Crew, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Copenhagen Wolves, Team SoloMid, Cloud9, and Evil Geniuses.
Zachary Scuderi, better known as Sneaky, is a professional League of Legends player, streamer, and crossplayer. He played AD Carry for Cloud9 of the League of Legends Championship Series North America until 2019. He won the 2013 Summer NA LCS and 2014 Spring NA LCS with Cloud9. Scuderi is also known for his cosplays of anime and video game characters.
Aleš Kněžínek, better known by his in-game name Freeze, is a Czech former professional League of Legends player and current Assistant Coach for 100 Thieves. He has also played for Renegades, H2k-Gaming, Copenhagen Wolves, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. He was the first Czech national to play in the LCS.
Heo Seung-hoon, better known as Huni, is a South Korean former professional League of Legends player. He is currently an analyst for Riot Games in LCK.
Jason Tran, better known as WildTurtle, is a Canadian professional League of Legends player who is the bot laner for Shopify Rebellion of the LCS. He previously played for Team SoloMid, Cloud9, CLG, Immortals, and FlyQuest. WildTurtle played in the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2020 World Championships.
Schalke 04 Esports is the esports department of football club FC Schalke 04. It has a FIFA division and a League of Legends division; the latter is a member of the Prime League, the European Regional League for League of Legends teams competing in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Danil Reshetnikov, better known by his in-game name Diamondprox, is a Russian professional League of Legends player who is the jungler for Team Spirit. 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.
Konstantinos-Napoleon Tzortziou, better known by his in-game name FORG1VEN, is a Greek professional League of Legends player. He played as an AD Carry for Intrepid Fox Gaming. He earlier played for Copenhagen Wolves, SK Gaming, Gambit Gaming, H2k-Gaming, Origen, and Schalke 04.
Ham Jang-sik, better known as Lustboy, is a South Korean League of Legends coach and retired professional player. After retiring from professional competition, Lustboy became a coach for Longzhu Gaming of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), before leaving to coach for LCS team Team SoloMid. He is currently a coach for 100 Thieves of the LCS.
Lauri Happonen, better known as Cyanide, is a Finnish retired professional League of Legends player who was most recently a substitute for Origen of the EU LCS. He won the Season 1 World Championship as a member of Fnatic.
Lucas Simon-Meslet, better known as Cabochard, is a French professional League of Legends player for Karmine Corp. He previously played for several other teams, most notably Gambit Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Vitality.
The League of Legends division of Cloud9 (C9) is a gaming team based in Los Angeles, California, and competes in the League Championship Series (LCS), the top-level professional league for video game League of Legends in the United States and Canada.
