Top Esports Organizations and Teams in the World
Yuriy SheremetRapidly developing esports attracts millions of investments, gathers thousands of fans around itself and matches of top esports teams in the world are watched by hundreds thousands of spectators around the world. The latter explains the international popularity of esports.
The best esports organizations and teams show competitive gaming in all its glory, using all means, releasing their own fashion lines, collaborating with title world brands, recording music albums and joking on social media. However, the main success mark of top organizations in esports is their results at the major tournaments and the amount of the earned prize money.
In this material we will talk about Top esports organizations and teams in the world and their way to success. From computer clubs in the basements to millions of earned money.
Team Liquid
The multi-gaming organization founded in the Netherlands and based in North America has its origin from 2000. At first the team was not more than a clan in Starcraft by Blizzard, and later it became the leading player at the esports arena.
Team Liquid is present in all esports disciplines. Rosters in Liquid play CSGO, Dota 2, League of Legends, VALORANT, Rocket League, Rainbow Six and others.
Liquid became widely known thanks to the Dota 2 division. Having started their expansion on the competitive stage of the МОВА by Valve with an American roster, Liquid received applause at Benaroya Hall, having kicked out the grands of those times PSG.LGD from The International 2013.
The second time when fans of Liquid rejoiced happened in the summer of 2017. Then Liquid, represented by MATUMBAMAN, Miracle, MinD_ContRoL, GH and KuroKy, raised the Aegis, winning The International from the lower bracket.
Apart from Dota, Team Liquid has been actively developing in other disciplines. For example, Team Liquid joined CS:GO in 2015 but huge success came later, in 2019: the year brought Liquid a victory at five S-tier tournaments, one A-tier tournament and became the second winners of Intel Grand Slam.
Liquid also plays League of Legends. They are known for being a partner of LoL LCS, one of the four major leagues.
They dominated on the professional stage in 2019 when the CSGO division won big tournaments and Dora players got to the grand final of The International. One of the main merits was the victory at the LCS Spring and the LCS Summer 2019. Their awards on the international arena were much more humble: Top-12 at the Worlds 2019 and 2020 and second place at the MSI 2019.
Apart from the traditional kind of esports (games), Liquid is actively developing communication with the audience and increasing its recognizability in the media field. The club is actively collaborating with content makers and big brands: for example, the LoL team has a partnership agreement with Honda, and in 2022 the organization had a collaboration with Naruto.
OG
One of the most famous esports teams in the world was founded in 2015 based on the team (monkey)Business in Dota 2 by the former HoNs N0tail and Fly. Since then the team has already become a proper name on the competitive stage.
OG’s climbing onto the stool of the best teams in the world happened with lightning speed. In the period from 2016 to 2017 OG won four Valve major tournaments for the first time in the world: The Frankfurt Major 2015, The Manila Major 2016, The Boston Major 2016 and The Kiev Major 2017.
Beyond majors, OG felt uncomfortable right till 2018. Then Dota 2 received one of the most epochal “Cinderella’s stories”.
Before the start of The International, the bromance broke up: Fly left N0tail taking Cr1t with him. Being left with nothing, Johan assembled a new roster together with the former coach Ceb where the teams welcomed Ana from Australia and Topson from FInland. The first used to play for OG and became the champion of majors while the second was an absolute newbie.
What a surprise it was when the newly-formed team destroyed top teams of the world Dota and beat the perfect PSG.LGD twice in their best conditions. We want to emphasize: twice. At the final of the upper bracket and the grand final.
The victory at The International 2018 cemented OG’s status not only of world champions but also the most meme team in the world: OG became the embodiment of the harmless bad mannerism and the chant “Ceeeeeeeb” entered the annals of history.
However, OG gained even more popularity a year later, in 2019. The team created something that had not been seen before: they won the second TI in a row becoming the first team in history that managed to reach this height.
After the success in Dota, OG started active development in other disciplines. The team has a CSGO roster, and until recently the team played VALORANT, even though their attempts there were not as successful as in Dota. The CSGO division shows mediocre results, and the VALORANT roster was disbanded in June 2022.
There is another sphere of interest for OG – cryptocurrency. In 2020, OG launched a fan token powered by Socios. The token enables OG fans to influence the decisions of the team, but to be fair, the key role in the management of the organization is not given to fans.
Evil Geniuses
EG is one of the oldest esports organizations in the world. No wonder that it has become one of the leading clubs in the world since the moment it appeared in 1999.
Even though EG’s ascent to the top of esport Olympus started with a Quake division, Evil Geniuses expanded the field of their activity into other disciplines. The club operates disciplines in CSGO, Dota 2, LoL and other disciplines.
Dota 2 brought the biggest glory to EG. Till 2015, Evil Geniuses were in suspended animation, playing on the international stage well but it was not enough to be called a Tier-1 team. They managed to change it after The International 2015 when EG became the first North American team to win the world championship.
EG’s heritage had died out by 2022. The series of unsatisfactory results encouraged the American club to move to neighboring Latin America.
In other title disciplines EG’s experience did not turn out well. In League of Legends Evil Geniuses played from 2013 till 2014, and then they took a long pause to return to LCS in 2020.
In shooters EG are known for their author’s approach to assembling a roster. The club announced three CSGO rosters at the same time, expanding the VALORANT team to 9 people including setting up a female division.
Moist Esports
Moist Esports appeared in the vast competitive esports at the second half of 2021 which is still recent in terms of the big esports. Nevertheless, the club managed to climb to the top of some disciplines even though it was initially formed for fighting.
The American esports organization is mostly known for its success in Rocket League. Moist Esports became the best in July 2022 with the victory at the prestigious RLCS 2021-2022 - Spring Split Major.
The uniqueness of the club is in its core. Moist was formed by the content maker Cr1TiKaL, who is the main master behind the club.
Cr1TiKaL maintains the viability of the club by his own efforts which is the reason why the team has hit financial difficulties. In one video on his YouTube channel the founder of Moist urged his followers to join the special event based on Omega Strikers. Loads of users responded to Cr1TiKaL’s call and helped the team to win the championship with 2 million victories in the overall standings and improve the financial situation.
Sentinels
The beacon of the North American region was lit in 2018. In the period from 2016 till 2018 the collective was under the wing of Phoenix1, and when he was fully independent, he started to conquer new heights.
First of all, Sentinels is known for their VALORANT division. Teams that play the tactical shooter by Riot Games: the team literally destroyed the opponents in the North American region in 2021.
Sentinels won VCT 2021: North America Stage 1 Masters, VCT North America Stage 2 Challengers 2, VCT 2021: North America Stage 2 Challengers Finals, and later cemented their domination in the international arena after the victory at VCT 2021: Stage 2 Masters – Reykjavik.
Another cog in the Sentinels’s success machine is Bugha. The Fortnite prodigy became the champion of the one and only Fortnite World Cup which brought them the biggest individual prize in history – 3,000,000 dollars.
FunPlus Phoenix
FunPlus Phoenix (FPX, FunPlus X) is a titled Chinese club founded in December 2017. The multigaming organization is presented in League of Legends, VALORANT, CSGO and other disciplines. SInce the moment of foundation, different FPX’s rosters managed to earn over 3,800,000 dollars from grabs.
This is a brief description of the team, But the main contribution to the mentioned merits of the teams was made by the LoL subdivision.
FPX dominated on the Chinese stage in 2019 when the team became the champion of the regular season of LPL Spring, and then repeated their spring success in the summer split LPL Summer 2019. The latest achievement opened the road to the Worlds 2019 for FunPlus Phoenix.
The first world championship finished with a real triumph for FPX: the team won Group B, and in the playoff beat Fnatic and Invictus Gaming who were world champions at that moment. In the grand final Fun Plus X destroyed G2 Esports with the score 3-0, gaining the first world cup.
FPX’s success in VALORANT was also significant. In the new discipline by Riot the Chinese club played cleverly: the team welcomed the top mix PartyParrots: ANGE1, Shao, ShadoW, Meddo and Zypan. This is how the team played till autumn 2021. It is remarkable that when they set up a VALORANT division, FunPlus Phoenix entered the European esports arena.
The most fruitful year in VALORANT was the period from the end of 2021 till the beginning of 2022. Then FPX won two regional VCTs in Europe and then won VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen, obtaining the first champion title of the international level.
However, all good things end sooner or later. This statement became especially relatable for Fun Plus X.
At the end of 2022, FPX said goodbye to the VALORANT roster and the LoL subdivision has been holding their head down for a very long time, going through a secular stagnation in the Chinese regional league.
Astralis
It is a nominal name for the European and worldwide CSGO. The Danish organization could be put down to esports history books, allocating a few paragraphs for them.
The team that was created in 2016 and received their own image in 2019 climbed very high to the very top setting the quality bar at the unreachable mark. To do so, they had to win 4 major tournaments: ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017, FACEIT Major: London 2018, Intel Extreme Masters XIII - Katowice Major 2019 and StarLadder Berlin Major 2019.
Having conquered CSGO in 2017-2019, the Danish organization had declined by 2020, and in 2023 the players were in shadows of their own results. The same situation is present in other disciplines (FIFA, LoL) where the club plays but unluckily Astralis were unable to reach the same results as in CS.
FaZe Clan
Perhaps, it is one of the most famous and boldest esports teams in the world. FaZe appeared on esports radars in 2010, and was founded as a Call of Duty clan.
The original creators of FaZe Clan are CLipZ, House Cat and Resistance, however, later the stuff was expanded. It consisted of at least 9 people: Temperrr, Apex, Rain, Rug, Banks, Adapt, Nickmercs, Offset and DJ Paul.
In 2012, FaZe hit the bar of 1 million followers on YouTube and started to conquer competitive gaming. FaZe’s ascent starter in CoD and CSGO.
The peak of the gaming results for FaZe was 2022 and it happened in CSGO. The roster with rain, broky, Twitstzz, karrigan and ropz won the most prestigious tournaments of the year – PGL Antwerp 2022, and also won Intel Extreme Masters XVI - Katowice, ESL Pro League Season 15 and IEM XVII – Cologne.
Another FaZe’s main activity is related to the stock market. In 2021, the club became a public company when NASDAQ was released. When FaZe Clan’s stocks went on sale, they cost ~$10, and then they were around +-10 conventional units.
At the end of 2022 the price of FaZe Clan’s stocks reached the critical failure point $2 which entails huge risks in the future.
NAVI
The main esports organization of Eastern Europe appeared in 2010. Up to 2011, the club was headed by Arbalet, becoming the reason why the club was called Arbalet UA until 2011.
In 2011, the management of NAVI was given to ZeroGravity. When Kohanovsky was behind the wheel, NAVI started to show amazing victories in Counter-Strike and Dota 2.
Natus Vincere became the champion of Intel Extreme Masters Season 4, beating the legendary Fnatic in the final. Later the team won the main international event of the 2010s, the ESWC championship. NAVI’s victory at the World Cyber Games completed the streak.
Later the team won DreamHack Winter 2010 and emigrated to CSGO. NaVi experienced difficulties In the updated version of the game on the way to becoming the world’s top. They finally managed to overcome them in 2021 when S1mple was in the team. The latter, by the way, is the best player in the history of the competitive CSGO, who won in the HLTV rating three times.
In the MOBA by Valve the yellow-black team triumphed in 2011 winning the first The International 2011 in history. In the following year NAVI made it to the final of TI twice which makes it the most successful team in the world and the only team that played in the grand final three times.
Apart from Dota 2 and CSGO, NaVi are present in almost all esports disciplines. In VALORANT the team passed to the partner league by Riot which gives them access to the largest events in the 2023 season, in Apex they remain participants in ALGS, and apart from it they are actively working on their academic directions.
At the end of 2022 the club was in Top-5 richest organizations in the world. Their earnings from grabs are estimated at $19 million.
T1
The main Asian team in worldwide esports could be called T1. The club appeared in 2003 when the roster of Orion по StarCraft was signed.
However, T1 truly succeeded in League of Legends. Since the moment when the team entered the competitive LoL, T1 has managed to become the most titled team in the world.
The South Korean club has got 10 victories at LCK splits and three silver places in their pocket. The highest level of performance guaranteed them strong performance on the international stage: T1 won Worlds 2013, 2015 and 2016, won Mid-Season Invitational twice in 2016 and 2017, and became triumphants at the Intel Extreme Masters 2016.
T1 links the majority of victories with the name of the legendary player on the middle lane – Faker. Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok has been playing for T1 since the times of SK Telecom T1 K (2013-2014) and has been a member of the club for 10 years.
Best Esports CS:GO Teams in 2022
Team | Lineup |
Heroic | cadiaN, stavn, TeSeS, sjuush, jabbi |
G2 Esports | NiKo, huNter, jks, HooXi, m0NESY |
FaZe | karrigan, rain, Twistzz, ropz, broky |
Liquid | nitr0, NAF, EliEGE, oSee, YEKINDAR |
Outsiders | FL1T, Qikert, Jame, KaiR0N, fame |
FURIA | arT, yuuurih, KSCERATO, saffee, drop |
MOUZ | dexter, frozen, JDC, torzsi, xertioN |
NAVI | s1mple, electroNic, Perfecto, b1t, npl |
Vitality | apEX, dupreeh, Magisk, ZywOo, Spinx |
Cloud9 | H0bbit, buster, Ax1Le, sh1ro, nafany |
Best Esports Dota Teams in 2022
Teams | Lineup |
Tundra Esports | skiter, Nine, 33, Saksa, Sneyking |
Team Secret | Crystallis, BOOM, Resolut1on, Zayac, Puppey |
Team Liquid | miCKe, Nisha, Zai, Boxi, iNSaNiA |
Team Aster | Monet, fka, Xxs, Borax, Siamese.C |
Evil Geniuses | Pakazs, Matthew, Wisper, Chris Luck, Panda |
beastcoast | K1, Scofield, Sacred, Darkmago, StingeR |
OG | Yuragi, bzm, DM, Taiga, Misha |
Gaimin Gladiators | dyrachyo, Quinn, Ace, t0fu, Seleri |
Entity | watson, Stormstormer, Tobi, Kataomi`, Fishman |
Team Spirit | Yuragi, Larl, Collapse, Mira, Miposhka |
Best Esports League of Legends Teams in 2022
Team | Lineup |
T1 | Zeus, Oner, Faker, Gumayusi, Keiria |
Gen.G | Doran, Peanut, Chovy, Peyz, Delight |
JD Gaming | Kanavi, Missing, 369, Ruler, Knight |
Royal Never Give Up | Ming, Wei, GALA, Breathe, Tangyuan |
DRX | Kingen, BeryL, Juhan, Rascal, Croco |
Dplus KIA | Kellin, ShowMaker, Canyon, Deft, Canna |
EDward Gaming | meiko, JieJie, Fisher, Leave, Ale |
Top Esports | JackeyLove, Qingtian, Wayward, Tian, Mark |
KOI | Szygenda, Malrang, Larssen, Comp, Trymbi |
Weibo Gaming | HuanFeng, TheShy, xiaohu, Light.-, Karsa |
Best Esports VALORANT Teams in 2022
Teams | Lineup |
Paper Rex | Jinggg, mindfreak, f0rsaken, Benkai, d4v41 |
DRX | Stax, Rb, Zest, BuZz, MaKo |
Fnatic | Boaster, Chronicle, Leo, Derke, Alfajer, kamyk |
100 Thieves | stellar, Asuna, Derrek, Cryocells, bang |
Made in Thailand | Kongared, b3ta, AloNeFillz, Kadoom, PTC |
KRU Esports | xand, NagZ, Melser, DaveeyS, Klaus |
Team Liquid | soulcas, sayf, nAts, Redgar, Jamppi |
BOOM Esports | blaZek1ng, Famouz, Berserx, SEVERiNE, Shiro |
Team Falcons | alvar, SpYzera, OuTLaW, Moh, Fr4nky |
Edward Gaming | nobody, ZmjjKK, Haodong, Pikachu, Smoggy, CHICHOO |
Best Esports Rocket League Teams in 2022
Teams | Lineup |
Gen.G Mobil1 Racing | ApparentlyJack, Chronic, noly |
Moist Esports | Joyo, AztraL, juicy |
Karmine Corp | itachi, vatira., ExoTiiK |
Team Secret | Sad, nxghtt, kv1 |
Oxygen Esports | archie, Joreuz, rise. |
Team Vitality | Alpha54, Radosin, saizen, zen |
Quadrant | Kash, RelatingWave, eekso |
Spacestation Gaming | Arsenal, Daniel, Lj. |
Team Liquid | AcroniK., Oski, Atow. |
Version1 | Torment, Comm, BeastMode |
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.