Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams.
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also hope that the expansion of their competition will grow the popularity of the sport generally. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues but is applied to sports leagues in other countries with a closed franchise system of league membership. The term refers to the expansion of the sport into new areas. The addition of an expansion team sometimes results in the payment of an expansion fee to the league by the new team and an expansion draft to populate the new roster.
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.
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.
NRG Esports is an American esports organization based in Los Angeles, California. It has rosters in League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Apex Legends and a number of streamers on the internet platform Twitch.
Motorsport Network is an American media and technology company headquartered in Miami, Florida and London, UK. The company's proprietary brands, websites and OTT operations focus on motor racing and consumer automotive content serving and presenting content to audiences worldwide. The privately held business was founded in 2015 with the acquisition of Motorsport.com and now operates international digital, videogame, print, e-commerce & event businesses.
Professional Esports Association (PEA) is an American association of nine North American esports organizations. It was founded in 2016 as a member-owned esports league by seven American esports teams. Jason Katz was the league's commissioner from its founding until his departure in February 2017.
The Overwatch League (OWL) was a professional esports league for the video game Overwatch, produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. From 2018 to 2023, the Overwatch League followed the model of other traditional North American professional sporting leagues by using a set of permanent, city-based teams backed by separate ownership groups. The league used the regular season and playoffs format rather than promotion and relegation used commonly in other esports and non-North American leagues, with players on the roster being assured a minimum annual salary, benefits, and a portion of winnings and revenue-sharing based on team performance.
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championship and other leagues. As of 2024, the league has 12 teams who play 22 regular season games, followed by playoffs. All teams also participate in the USL Cup, adding an additional eight games, followed by knockout rounds.
The Shanghai Dragons are a professional Overwatch esports team based in Shanghai, China. The Dragons compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017, Shanghai Dragons are one of the league's twelve founding members and are one of four professional Overwatch teams based in China. The team is owned by Chinese internet technology company NetEase, who also own Team CC, an academy team for the Dragons that compete in Overwatch Contenders.
Seoul Infernal is a professional Overwatch esports team based in Seoul, South Korea. The Infernal compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017 as the Philadelphia Fusion, it is one of the league's twelve founding members and was the first professional esports team based in Pennsylvania. The team is owned by Comcast Spectacor, who also own the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). It also manages Fusion University and T1, academy teams for the Infernal that compete in Overwatch Contenders.
Florida Mayhem was an American professional Overwatch esports team based in Miami and Orlando, Florida. The team competed in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West Division. Founded in 2017, Florida Mayhem was one of the league's twelve founding members and was owned and operated by Florida-based esports organization Misfits Gaming and CEO Ben Spoont. The organization also ran Mayhem Academy, an academy team for the Mayhem that competed in Overwatch Contenders. The Mayhem made their first season playoffs appearance in franchise history in the 2020 season. Florida won their first OWL championship in the 2023 season after defeating the Houston Outlaws, 4–0, in the 2023 Grand Finals. The Mayhem was disbanded in October of 2023 following the end of the Overwatch League.
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax eSports, commonly known as Ajax eSports, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional esports club founded in 2016, and based in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The club is the esports department of Ajax.
Toronto Defiant is a Canadian professional Overwatch esports team based in Toronto which currently participates in the Overwatch Champions Series. Founded in 2018 as an expansion team for the Overwatch League (OWL), Toronto began play in 2019 and was one of two OWL teams based in Canada. The team is owned by OverActive Media, who also owned the Montreal Rebellion, a former academy team for the Defiant that competed in Overwatch Contenders (OWC). As of June 27, 2024, the Defiant play as the Toronto Ultra, the name of OverActive Media's Call of Duty League team.
Chengdu Hunters were a Chinese professional Overwatch esports team based in Chengdu, China. The Hunters competed in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. The team was owned by Huya, Inc., a Chinese interactive broadcast platform and was operated by Royal Never Give Up (RNG) throughout the 2019 and 2020 OWL seasons. The Hunters also formerly had partnership with Overwatch Contenders the team LGE.Huya to act as the team's academy team. Founded in 2018, Chengdu Hunters began play as one of eight expansion teams in 2019 and was one of four professional Overwatch teams in China. Since inception, the Hunters had qualified for the season playoffs once, in 2021. The team disbanded in 2023.
Smart Omega Esports, formerly known as PLDT–Smart Omega, is a Philippine franchise-based professional esports team which competes in The Nationals, the top esports league in the Philippines sanctioned by the eSports National Association of the Philippines, and MPL Philippines. It was formed as a result of a partnership between esports team Sterling Global Dragons and corporate firms, PLDT Inc. and its mobile arm, Smart Communications.
The New York Subliners are an American professional Call of Duty League (CDL) esports team based in New York City, New York. The team is operated by NYXL, an esports organization owned by Sterling Equities subsidiary Sterling.VC. New York was announced as one of the first five cities to own a spot in the CDL.
The Call of Duty League (CDL) is a professional esports league for the video game series Call of Duty, produced by its publisher Activision. The Call of Duty League follows the model of the Overwatch League as well as other traditional North American professional sporting leagues by using a set of permanent, city-based teams backed by separate ownership groups. In addition, the league plays in a tournament point system and playoffs format rather than the use of promotion and relegation used commonly in other esports and non-North American leagues, with players on the roster being assured a minimum annual salary, benefits, and a portion of winnings and revenue-sharing based on how that team performs. The League was announced in 2019 with its inaugural season starting in 2020.
The Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) is a global competitive esports tournament series for the video game Valorant organised by Riot Games, the game's developers. The series runs multiple events throughout each season, culminating in Valorant Champions, the top-level event of the tour. The VCT was announced in 2020, with its inaugural season taking place in 2021.
SEM9 is a professional esports organisation based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded on 14 January 2020 by Kevin Wong Yew Joon, its current CEO. It has teams competing in PUBG Mobile, Garena Free Fire, League of Legends, and Sim Racing. It previously had teams competing in Call of Duty: Mobile and League of Legends: Wild Rift. The organisation also operates SEM9 Senai, an esports-themed hotel located in Senai, Johor, Malaysia.