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- 1Team Liquid
Team Liquid traces its origins to 2000 as a Dutch StarCraft fan website and community before evolving into a formal competitive gaming organization, eventually growing into one of the largest and most decorated multi-game esports organizations in the world. The organization fields competitive teams across numerous major titles, including League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike, and its Dota 2 roster won The International in 2017, one of the largest prize pools in esports history at the time, cementing Team Liquid's status among the sport's most successful organizations. Team Liquid became a significant early example of traditional sports investment entering esports when the Aser Ventures and Axiomatic investment groups, whose backers include NBA figures, took ownership stakes in the organization, reflecting the broader convergence between mainstream sports business and competitive gaming. Team Liquid's combination of its origins as a grassroots StarCraft community and its landmark 2017 International championship victory has made it one of the most historically significant organizations in competitive esports.
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0 - 2Cloud9
Cloud9 was founded in 2013 by Jack Etienne, and the organization built its early reputation primarily around League of Legends competition, becoming one of the most recognizable esports brands in North America within just a few years of its founding. The organization has expanded across numerous other competitive titles, including Counter-Strike, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros., establishing Cloud9 as one of the broadest multi-game esports organizations based in North America specifically. Cloud9 became one of the first esports organizations to secure major mainstream corporate sponsorships typically reserved for traditional professional sports franchises, helping legitimize esports sponsorship as a serious marketing category for large non-endemic brands. Cloud9's combination of its rapid rise to prominence in North American League of Legends and its pioneering role attracting major mainstream corporate sponsorship has made it one of the most commercially significant esports organizations in North America.
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0 - 3TSM
TSM, originally founded in 2009 as Team SoloMid by Andy "Reginald" Dinh, began as a League of Legends-focused organization built around Dinh's own competitive playing career before he transitioned fully into ownership and management as the team grew. The organization became one of the most successful and popular League of Legends teams in North American competitive history, winning numerous domestic championships and building one of the largest fan followings of any team in the region's League of Legends scene. TSM drew significant industry attention in 2020 when it sold its League of Legends franchise slot naming rights to cryptocurrency exchange FTX in a reported 10-year, roughly $210 million sponsorship deal, at the time one of the largest sponsorship agreements in esports history, before FTX's subsequent collapse ended the partnership early. TSM's combination of its founder's own competitive playing roots and its landmark, later ill-fated FTX naming rights deal has made it one of the most closely watched esports organizations in the industry's business history.
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0 - 4Fnatic
Fnatic was founded in 2004 in the United Kingdom by Sam Mathews, and the organization built its early reputation through dominant Counter-Strike competition before becoming one of the most recognized esports brands across the European competitive gaming scene broadly. Fnatic's League of Legends roster won the very first League of Legends World Championship in 2011, giving the organization a genuinely foundational place in the history of what later grew into one of the largest esports titles in the world. The organization has continued fielding competitive teams across numerous games, including Valorant and Rainbow Six Siege, and Fnatic has consistently positioned itself as one of the leading esports organizations representing the European competitive gaming region specifically. Fnatic's combination of its early Counter-Strike dominance and its historic first-ever League of Legends World Championship title has made it one of the most foundational organizations in the history of European esports.
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0 - 5T1
T1, originally known as SK Telecom T1, was founded in 2012 as a South Korean esports organization backed by telecommunications giant SK Telecom, and the team quickly became closely associated with legendary League of Legends player Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the game's history. T1 won the League of Legends World Championship multiple times across the 2010s and into the 2020s, and the organization's sustained dominance made it one of the most consistently successful teams in the entire history of competitive League of Legends specifically. The organization rebranded from SK Telecom T1 to simply T1 in 2019 following a major investment from Comcast Spectacor, the parent company of the Philadelphia Flyers NHL franchise, reflecting the same kind of traditional sports crossover investment seen elsewhere in top-tier esports. T1's combination of its sustained multi-championship League of Legends dominance and its close association with legendary player Faker has made it one of the most historically significant esports organizations in the world.
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0 - 6G2 Esports
G2 Esports was founded in 2014 by Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez, growing out of an earlier League of Legends organization, and it built its identity around a distinctly brash, entertainment-forward brand personality that set it apart from more conventionally corporate esports organizations. The organization's League of Legends roster became one of the most dominant teams in European competitive history, winning numerous consecutive regional championships and reaching multiple World Championship finals, cementing G2 as one of Europe's flagship esports brands. G2 Esports expanded into numerous other competitive titles, including Valorant, Counter-Strike, and Rocket League, while also building a significant media and content presence beyond pure competition, reflecting a broader strategy of esports organizations functioning as entertainment brands rather than purely competitive teams. G2 Esports's combination of its dominant run atop European League of Legends competition and its distinctly bold entertainment-brand identity has made it one of the most commercially and competitively significant esports organizations in Europe.
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