Esports is a form of competition using video games. Most commonly, esports takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although organized online and offline 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 toward a professional esports subculture.
The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games and is the culmination of each season. Teams compete for the champion title, the 70 pounds (32 kg) Summoner's Cup, and a US$1 million championship prize. In 2017, the finals were watched by 60 million people, breaking 2016's finals' viewer record. The tournament has been widely praised for its ceremonial performances, while receiving attention worldwide due to its multiple dramatic and emotional series. A donation of US$2 million was raised through the sales of the Worlds 2017 Championship Ashe skin.
Lee Seung-Hyun is a former professional StarCraft II player from South Korea who played Zerg under the alias Life. He was on the Korean team Afreeca Freecs, which he joined in January 2016. He has also played for StarTale and KT Rolster.
Alliance is a professional gaming and esports organization based in Sweden that was formed in April 2013. They have teams in Dota 2, Hearthstone, the Super Smash Bros. series and Fortnite, and previously had teams in League of Legends and StarCraft II.
Virtus.pro is an esports organisation based in Russia with competing teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, World of Tanks,Starcraft II, Hearthstone, Paladins, Quake Champions and Heroes Of The Storm. In November 2015, the team got an investment of over $100,000,000 USD from Alisher Usmanov's USM Holdings. Since 2015 Virtus.pro is a part of the ESforce esports holding. Virtus.pro's CS:GO team is based in Poland.
Team Secret is a global eSports team formed in 2014, best known for their Dota 2 team.
Mikail Bill, better known by his in-game name Maikelele, is a Swedish professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player for Digital Chaos. He has also played for qwerty, G2 Esports, Team Kinguin, LGB eSports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, mousesports, UnWanted, ESG!, FaZe Clan, SK Gaming, Team Property and Red Reserve.
Immortals is a professional esports team based in the United States that was founded on October 7, 2015, after the acquisition of the NA LCS spot of Team 8. They used to compete in the North American League of Legends Championship Series, but were declined entry for the 2018 season, despite being one of the three teams from the LCS to qualify for the 2017 League of Legends World Championship. Immortals has since expanded into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Dota 2, Super Smash Bros, Vainglory, Rainbow Six Siege and Arena of Valor.
Lee Yoon-jae or Rush is a South Korean League of Legends player who plays as the jungler for Echo Fox in the North American LCS.
Kurtis Ling, often known by his in-game name Aui_2000, is a Canadian professional Dota 2 player. Kurtis was a member of the Evil Geniuses team that won The International 2015.
Kim Yeu-jin (김의진), better known as Reignover, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player. He played for Fnatic of the EU LCS during most of the 2015 season, then in the NA LCS Immortals for their Spring and Summer-split of 2016, Team Liquid for their Spring and Summer-split of 2017, and Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) for their Spring and Summer-split of 2018. Reignover was named MVP of the 2016 NA LCS split while a member of Immortals.
The 2016 Mid-Season Invitational was a League of Legends tournament that took place from March 4–15, 2016 in Shanghai, China. Teams qualified by winning one of seven professional leagues from across the world, with a wildcard spot being selected by an tournament with teams from outside the aforementioned leagues.
Flipside Tactics is an American eSports organization, with teams competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Halo, CrossFire ,fighting games, StarCraft II, Rocket League. The organization formerly had a team competing in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege and Dota 2. Former professional football player Ricky Lumpkin is a co-owner of the team.
Aleksei Ichetovkin, better known as Alex Ich, is a Russian League of Legends player who is a substitute mid-laner for Team Envy of the North American League of Legends Championship Series. Alex Ich has been a part of teams including Moscow Five, Gambit Gaming, Renegades, Team Dragon Knights, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. During the peak of his career, around 2012, he was considered one of the best players in the world.
Lee Da-yoon (이다윤), better known as Spirit is a Korean League of Legends player who is currently the jungler for the Afreeca Freecs in the LCK. Spirit has previously played for was Fnatic of the European League of Legends Championship Series. He has also played for MVP Blue, Samsung Galaxy Blue, and Team WE. Spirit joined fnatic on December 6, 2015 along with Noh “Gamsu” Yeong-jin.
Gabriel Toledo de Alcântara Sguario, professionally known by his in-game alias FalleN, is a Brazilian professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player and former Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike 1.6 player. He currently plays the role of an AWPer for MIBR. In 2015 he was chosen the most influential person in Brazilian eSports. He was also nominated PC personality of the year by the eSports Industry Awards in 2016. He is the owner of Brazilian eSports organization Games Academy. As of 2016 is currently described as one of the top AWPers, in-game leaders, and overall players in the world. As of March 2019, FalleN has won $911,126.44.
Wings Gaming is a former Chinese Dota 2 esports team that was based in Chongqing. They were best known for winning over US$9 million at The International 2016 (TI6), which was one of the most lucrative esports tournaments in history. Wings were founded in the aftermath of post-The International 2014 roster shuffles in China, with the TI6 winning roster being put together in August 2015.
Tal Aizik, better known as Fly, is an Israeli professional Dota 2 player who currently play for Evil Geniuses. He is the founder of esports team OG. Aizik won four Dota Major Championships with team OG.
The Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) is a professional tournament format system of Dota 2, a competitive five-on-five video game. It was introduced in 2017 by the game's developer, Valve Corporation, to determine which teams are eligible to obtain a direct invitation to The International, the premier annual tournament for the game produced by them. The DPC replaced the former Dota Major Championship series (2015–2016), which was criticized due to Valve's non-transparent and unpredictable nature for handing out International invitations.
ESL One Hamburg 2017 was a Dota 2 eSports championship tournament hosted by ESL. It took place in Hamburg, Germany in October 2017. This is the first ESL One event held in Hamburg, after three previous ESL One events in Germany were held in Frankfurt. In accordance with the new Dota 2 competitive season format set by Valve Corporation, the game's developer, the tournament will be the first Dota 2 Major tournament of the 2017 Dota Pro Circuit season.
