Aditya ChaudhuriAs we complete two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, if there was one industry that we could say grew exponentially during this period, it would have to be esports.
Esports continues to grow year on year, and despite the return of live events for regular sports, esports has blossomed like no other. Even though esports has been there for a while, the industry has not seen such a rise as it saw in the last couple of years. As it continues to grow, we look at some of the biggest names in the world of esports – the organisations. Unlike some other sports, esports isn’t just dominated by a team or two, rather there are multiple teams across various titles who have been fighting it out over the years.
In this article, we list down top 10 biggest esports organisations in the world.
Also Read – Top 10 most popular eSports games in the world in 2022
Team SoloMid (TSM)
Founded in 2009 by Andy ‘Reginald’ Dinh, Team SoloMid or TSM as they are known are an esports organisation based out of Los Angeles. They currently have teams participating in League of Legends (LoL), DotA 2, Apex Legends, Valorant, Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros., Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, Battlegrounds Mobile India, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and Magic: The Gathering Arena.
TSM’s League of Legends team are one of the most successful teams with seven League of Legends Championship Series. TSM previously also had CS:GO, Call of Duty and Vainglory rosters, with their CS:GO roster eventually going on to create their own organisation and becoming the most successful CS:GO team in the history of the sport.
Valued at US$400 million, TSM are not only one of the most profitable esports organisations but also one of the most successful ones.
Team Liquid
Based out of Utrecht, The Netherlands, multi-regional esports organisation Team Liquid were founded in 2000. After initially starting off with only a StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty roster, Liquid moved to other titles in 2012 when they acquired a North American DotA 2 team.
Since then, there has been no looking back for the organisation. With The International, multiple League Championship Series and Intel Grand Slam wins in the bag, Liquid currently have teams in Apex Legends, Artifact, Clash Royale, Fortnite, CS:GO, DotA 2, Free Fire, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, Rocket League, PUBG, StarCraft II, Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros., Tekken 7, Rainbow Six Siege, Valorant and World of Warcraft.
Team Liquid were also the most watched esports organisation in the world in 2021, with 117.15 million hours watched.
FaZe Clan
Arguably one of the biggest esports organisations in the world, FaZe Clan were founded in May 2010 as FaZe Snipping. The Los Angeles-based esports organisation later rebranded to FaZe Clan and today they have teams in various esports games with players from all of the world. FaZe currently have rosters in Call of Duty, CS:GO, PUBG, Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA, Valorant, Fortnite and Rocket League.
Having won over US$240m in prize money over the years, FaZe boast partnerships with brands such as Nissan, Kappa, Champion, McDonald’s, DC Comics and New Era to name a few. FaZe have also partnered with sports clubs around the world such as Manchester City. Prominent names who have invested in FaZe over the years are Ray J, DJ Paul, Offset, Swae Lee, Yo Gotti, Pitbull, Disco Fries, Meyers Leonard, Josh Hart, Ben Simmons, Jamal Murray and Chris O’Donnell to name a few.
FaZe today are not only one of the world’s biggest esports organisations but also an entertainment organisation, having transcended the boundaries in between. In 2021, they were valued at over US$1 billion.
Fnatic
Founded in 2004, Fnatic are not only one of the oldest esports organisations in the world but also one of the biggest and well-known. Based out of London, Fnatic have rosters in multiple esports titles such as CS:GO, Fortnite, LoL, DotA 2, Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant.
Fnatic’s LoL team are regarded as one of the best ever with seven split titles in the League of Legends European Championships. Their CS:GO team, consisting mostly of Swedish players, have also been one of the best in the sport with three CS:GO Major titles.
With over US$17 million in tournament winnings and boasting partnerships with some of the world’s biggest brands such as BMW and Monster, Fnatic and their incredible consistency secures their place as one of esports’ all-time great organisations.
Also Read – Top 10: Greatest CS:GO Players of All Time
Gen.G
Multi-regional esports organisation Gen.G were founded in 2017 and have grown into one of the world’s largest esports organisations. With headquarters in Santa Monica, Seoul and Shanghai, Gen.G currently host League of Legends, NBA 2K, Overwatch, PUBG: Battlegrounds and Valorant rosters.
Two League of Legends World Championships and multiple championships in Heroes of the Storm and PUBG: Battleground have seen Gen.G fasttrack into one of the biggest esports organisations in the world. Valued at US$185 million, they were the sixth most valuable esports organisation in 2021.
G2 Esports
Based out of Berlin, Germany, Gamers2 were founded in 2014 by former League of Legends pro Carlos ‘Ocelote’ Santiago and investor Jens Hilgers. They were rebranded to G2 in 2015.
Currently boasting rosters in League of Legends, CS:GO, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite, Valorant, Apex Legends and Sim Racing, G2 Esports have slowly found themselves among some of the all-time greats in the esports world. Having won multiple LEC championships and numerous CS:GO tournaments, G2 Esports have also had some of the finest names in esports represent them such as: kennyS, shox, Jaeger, Caps and Perkz.
G2 are also one of the most followed esports teams worldwide, with a total of 100 million hours watched by fans in 2021.
Natus Vincere (NAVI)
Founded in 2009, Natus Vincere or NAVI as they are more commonly known are a Ukrainian esports organisation based out of Kyiv. NAVI currently have teams in the following esports titles: CS:GO, DotA 2, FIFA, World of Tanks, Paladins, League of Legends: Wild Rift, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Fortnite, and Valorant.
One of the most successful esports organisations, NAVI’s DotA 2 team are one of the renowned ones in the world, while their CS:GO team are currently the best team in the world.
In 2010, NAVI became the first team in Counter-Strike history to win three premier tournaments in one year, which were: Intel Extreme Masters, World Cyber Games 2010 and the Electronic Sports World Cup. NAVI’s success is also visible from their partnerships with some of the biggest brands in the world such as Puma, Monster Energy, Logitech, Philips, Nissan and Bybit among others.
NAVI’s CS:GO and DotA 2 domination has seen them win over US$17 million in prize money over the years.
Cloud9
California-based esports organisation Cloud9 were founded in 2013. Initially, they were just a League of Legends team, later expanding into the present-day organisation that boast of LoL, Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros., Overwatch, Fortnite and Valorant teams.
With over US$11 million prize money from multiple tournament wins in the Rocket League Championship Series, Overwatch League and ELEAGUE Major amongst others, Cloud9 remain one of North America’s finest esports organisations even almost a decade after their inception.
OG
Even though they might not be as old as some of the other organisations on this list, OG, in their short time, have slowly become one of the forces to be reckoned with in the esports world. Founded in 2015 and based out of Europe, OG currently have rosters in DotA 2, CS:GO and Valorant.
OG’s DotA 2 team are one of the most successful teams in the game’s history, having won The Internationals back-to-back: in 2018 and 2019. With more than US$35 million in winnings and having sponsorship deals with the likes of Red Bull, BMW and SteelSeries amongst others, the organisation founded by N0tail, Miracle-, Cr1T and Fly have become one of the top esports organisations in the world today.
Also Read – Top 10 Greatest DotA 2 Players
T1 Esports
South Korean esports team T1 Esports are operated by T1 Entertainment & Sports, which is a joint venture between Comcast Spectacor and SK Telecom.
Founded in 2003, Seoul-based organisation T1 are one of Asia’s biggest esports organisations with rosters in Apex Legends, League of Legends, Fortnite, Hearthstone, PUBG, Super Smash Bros., DotA 2, Pokémon, Valorant, Overwatch and League of Legends: Wild Rift.
With multiple world championships in League of Legends, StarCraft and StarCraft II, along with having been voted as the best esports team by the Korea e-Sports Awards quadruple times, T1 are not only one of Asia’s most successful esports organisations but also one of the most-followed organisations worldwide, with a total of 104.5 millions hours watched.
Also Watch – Top 10 most popular eSports games in the world in 2022
