The number 7: Team Liquid – Successful and Award-Winning
The Team Liquid has existed since 2000 and originally hails from the Netherlands, but the teams for LoL and CS:GO play in the US.
Team Liquid has already won many titles and achievements: In 2017, they were able to win “The International”, a prestigious and highly lucrative tournament in DOTA 2. They earned nearly 11 million USD, the highest amount ever awarded for winning an e-sport tournament.
The LoL team of Team Liquid has won 4 championships in the US; the CS:GO team has also achieved great success. In LoL, mid laner Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen is considered the anchor and star of the team. Team Liquid invested a lot on him, even though Jensen was already quite old for a LoL pro at 25 when he signed the contract.
Team Liquid is overall a well-acclaimed e-sports organization. They are strongly connected with fans through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, reaching around 2.5 million fans alone through these 3 channels.
Team Liquid operates “Liquipedia”, something akin to Wikipedia for e-sports.
The number 6: G2 Esports – The Best Trolls of Europe
In terms of followers on social media, G2 Esports is in 6th place, but in terms of activity, the team is in 1st place. A sign of how perfectly the European team plays the social media game.
G2 Esports is a European e-sports organization founded by a Spanish LoL pro and based in Berlin. They have only been around since 2014. Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez Santiago evidently saw great potential in e-sports as a LoL pro and founded the company together with the German entrepreneur Jens Hilgers, who launched ESL in 2000.
The organization is primarily known for its LoL team: They are multiple champions in Europe and employ two of the most popular players in the game, Caps and former Fnatic star Rekkles. But they have also developed great ambitions for other games like Valorant. Ocelote referred to his team as the “Real Madrid” of e-sports, to which the best players want to switch.
You can always see Ocelote’s profile as a former LoL pro: He is known to be emotional, hot-headed, and takes every conflict he can find with him:
- He clashed with Twitch streamer Nickmercs.
- He also instructed hisValorant players to occasionally teabag opponents – that’s just part of it.
The behavior of the boss influences the players: G2 Esports is known for provocative and troll-like appearances. They frequently create borderline memes and present themselves in a rather edgy and aggressive manner, all while maintaining a wink and self-irony.
G2 Esports is especially successful on Twitter. They have “only” 1.2 million followers there, but their posts receive immense reactions and likes. The post-match reports of LoL games on YouTube are considered legendary: They are filled with memes and snippets from G2’s voice chat.
A typical meme exists around mid laner Caps: It is said that he has an evil twin brother “Craps” who sometimes appears and plays terribly. This is how they explain when the exceptional talent Caps has a really bad day due to his risky playstyle and loses the victory all by himself.
The number 5: NRG Esports – Teenagers with Sports Stars Behind Them
NRG Esports is one of the youngest major teams on the list, having been founded in 2015 by the owners of an NBA team, the Sacramento Kings. Some big names from US sports, like Alex Rodriguez and Shaquille O’Neal, were among the investors.
The team is not successful in “classic e-sport” titles, but rather in newer games like Apex Legends, Overwatch, Fortnite, or Rocket League.
They have one of the most successful teams in the Overwatch League with the “San Francisco Shock”. In Fortnite, they have several highly talented young players under contract like Benjyfishy or Clix. These are young people who are already captivating millions of fans on Twitch.
The Brit Benjyfishy made headlines because his mother took him out of school at 15 so he could play Fortnite with his friends in the US at night.
NRG Esports is primarily successful on YouTube and Instagram.
The number 4: Natus Vincere – Ukrainian Veterans
The stark contrast to NRG: Natus Vincere (short: NaVi) is an e-sports organization from Ukraine that was founded in 2009. They compete in many different games, but their CS:GO team is exceptionally strong. They have left a significant footprint in the history of CS:GO.
The outstanding player at Natus Vincere is the Ukrainian “s1mple” who is considered a legendary CS:GO player and is repeatedly mentioned as one of the best players in the world.
But Natus Vincere is not only successful in CS:GO. They have also achieved several successes in DOTA 2 or World of Tanks. Especially in World of Tanks, Natus Vincere has dominated: With 15 tournaments won and $708,511 in prize money between 2011 and 2018, Natus Vincere leads the eternal leaderboard here (via esportsearnings).
The team primarily reaches its fans through Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
On the third and final page, you will find the three largest e-sports teams in the Western world.
