eSports is the name given to the competitive video games tournaments, leagues, and competitions that have become an important part of the online landscape in the last couple of decades.
The popularity of eSports is growing – and it shows no signs of slowing down. Even a couple of years ago, you would only have been able to watch these tournaments on dedicated game streaming sites like Twitch, but a surge in public interest (and investment from some pretty major corporations in the form of partnerships and sponsorships) has put eSports firmly into the mainstream, with tournaments now on cable TV in many places.
Since the dawn of multiplayer video games, there have been competitive video game tournaments. These would take place in arcades, then in LAN parties, before the booming internet made it possible to play online against people on the other side of the world – and while it was in China and South Korea that the eSports revolution really began, there are competitive teams from all around the world that have won now.
With that in mind, who should you bet on in eSports to take advantage of the NY betting promos available at most major sportsbooks? In this article, we will look at those big-name teams, where they came from, and how they found success on a global scale.
FaZe Clan
Number of Tournament Wins: 676
Prize Money Won: Approx. $17 billion
Founded in 2010 as a YouTube channel that gained popularity for showcasing their trickshotting in CoD, FaZe is headquartered in LA, but they have players around the world taking part in regional and global tournaments, mostly playing the following games:
- Call of Duty
- Counter Strike: Global Offensive
- Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Halo Infinite
- Valorant
- Fortnite
- Rocket League
- Super Smash Bros
FaZe has one of the most diverse sponsors and partners lists of all the eSports teams, from G Fuel to Champion clothing, as well as Nissan and Manchester City among others. They’ve even partnered with DC Comics to create a comic that featured DC heroes alongside FaZe members.
Team Liquid
Number of Tournament Wins: 2620
Prize Money Won: $47.5 billion
Team Liquid have been in the eSports arena for more than two decades, and this has given them ample opportunity to enter thousands of tournaments – which has ultimately given them top spot when it comes to prize money won.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, they are just one of the many European eSports teams to have found success, playing games like:
- StarCraft 2
- League of Legends
- Counter Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- Super Smash Bros
- Rocket League
- Valorant
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Quake Champions
Team Liquid’s partnerships have included Alienware, Honda, Marvel Entertainment, Twitch and Monster Energy, adding to their perceived value in the eSports market.
OG
Number of Tournament Wins: 170
Prize Money Won: $38 billion
These relative newcomers to the eSports game might have only been established in 2015, but they have erupted onto the scene in a major way, coming second only to Team Liquid in prize money yet without entering nearly as many competitions.
As a primarily European team. OG are best known for their performance in Dota 2. In fact, they were the first team to win a repeat championship in a Valve sponsored Dota 2 tournament.
OG also competes in CS:GO tournaments, and this has brought them to the attention of Red Bull as sponsors, with partnerships with BMW and SteelSeries helping bolster their coffers and their popularity.
Evil Geniuses
Number of Tournament Wins: 997
Prize Money Won: $28.45 billion
The Evil Geniuses team are now based out of Seattle, Washington, but they were originally a Quake Clan in Victoria, Canada back when they were founded in 1999.
Today, you will find members of the Evil Geniuses taking part in the following tournaments:
- CS:GO
- Dota 2
- Super Smash Bros
- Rocket League
- Valorant
The Evil Geniuses have partnered with the English soccer team Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as tech and computing companies Hewlett Packard and LG.
G2
Number of Tournament Wins: 677
Prize Money Won: $14.7 billion
G2 was founded in Spain in 2014 as Gamers 2, but their headquarters moved to Berlin, Germany. Another primarily European team and a relative newcomer to the scene, G2 have been involved in some very exciting tournaments, playing games like:
- Apex Legends
- Clash Royale
- CS:GO
- Fortnite
- Hearthstone
- iRacing
- League of Legends
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Rocket League
- Valorant
- Destiny 2
Another team fancied by Red Bull, G2 have also worked with Logitech and Phillips, Mastercard, Ralph Lauren and even Spotify among others – a varied list of supporters.
Honorable Mentions
Team Spirit: 222 tournaments, $27.4 billion
Natus Vincere: 709 tournaments, $20.8 billion
Team Secret: 392 tournaments, $20.2 billion
Fnatic: 1113 tournaments, $20 billion
Paris Saint-Germain eSports: 158 tournaments, $19.1 billion
Virtus.pro: 627 tournaments, $18.9 billion