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, 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.
Kappa is an Italian sportswear brand founded in Turin, Piedmont, Italy in 1978 by Marco Boglione, as a sportswear branch of the already existing "Robe di Kappa".
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.
Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop League of Legends and went on to develop several spin-off games and the unrelated first-person shooter game Valorant. In 2011, Riot Games was acquired by Chinese conglomerate Tencent. Riot Games' publishing arm, Riot Forge, oversees the production of League of Legends spin-offs by other developers. The company worked with Fortiche to release Arcane, a television series based on the League of Legends universe.
The Winthrop Eagles are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Winthrop University, located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Winthrop's 17 men's and women's teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Big South Conference.
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 ESL Gaming GmbH, doing business as ESL, is a German esports organizer and production company that produces video game competitions worldwide. ESL was the world's largest esports company in 2015, and the oldest that is still operational. Based in Cologne, Germany, ESL has eleven offices and multiple international TV studios globally. ESL is the largest esports company to broadcast on Twitch.
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-pound (32-kilogram) Summoner's Cup, and a multi-million-dollar championship prize. In 2018, the final was watched by 99.6 million people, breaking 2017's final's viewer record. The tournament has been praised for its ceremonial performances, while receiving attention worldwide due to its dramatic and emotional nature.
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 TSM 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, Dota 2, Apex Legends, Valorant, Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros., Fortnite, 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.
Complexity Gaming, formerly stylized as compLexity, is an American esports franchise headquartered in Frisco, Texas. The franchise was founded in 2003 by Jason Lake and is co-owned by Lake, real estate investor John Goff, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Complexity operates out of the Legion by Lenovo Esports Center, an esports training facility in The Star. The franchise competes in Apex Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, FIFA, Fortnite, Hearthstone, Madden, Magic: The Gathering Arena, Rocket League, and Valorant. Complexity formerly competed in several other games, including Call of Duty, Dota 2, Heroes of the Storm, and League of Legends. In addition to competitive teams, Complexity also streams gaming sessions over Twitch. Complexity formerly maintained Limit, a World of Warcraft guild, until the end of their sponsorship deal with the guild in early 2022.
Tespa is a North American collegiate esports organization headquartered in the offices of Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, California. Founded in 2012 as a collegiate gaming club at the University of Texas, Austin, Tespa expanded nationally in 2013 as an event support network for college gaming organizations. In 2014, the company announced an official partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, hosting online leagues for Hearthstone, League of Legends, StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch.
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 (G2) 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.
PSG Esports is a French professional esports organisation founded in 2016. Based in Paris, it is the esports department of the parent club Paris Saint-Germain F.C. The organisation has active divisions in FIFA, League of Legends, Dota 2 (PSG.LGD), FIFA Online, Brawl Stars, and Arena of Valor. It also had teams in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (PSG.RRQ) and Rocket League. Since December 2020, the club has an online youth system in France and around the world called the Paris Saint-Germain Academy Esports.
The Houston Outlaws are an American professional Overwatch esports team based in Houston, Texas. The Outlaws compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region.
College esports in the United States began around 2009. Various schools began forming esports clubs to play any number of video games in collegiate tournaments. While there are thousands of schools that participate in collegiate esports competitions, in 2018, there were at least 73 college varsity esports programs, and by 2019 over 130 college varsity programs. College esports is often viewed as a starting path for gamers that aspire to go professional. Although popular, companies are finding it hard to monetize collegiate esports, especially with the recent COVID-19 situation. On December 9, 2020, North American collegiate partner of Activision-Blizzard's esports system, Tespa announced that it is closing down.
Furia Esports, stylized as FURIA, is a Brazilian professional esports organization. Furia competes in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League, League of Legends, Valorant and Rainbow Six: Siege.
