FACEIT
IndustryEsports
FoundedJune 2012; 11 years ago (2012-06)
Founders
  • Niccolo Maisto

    Michele Attisani

    Alessandro Avallone
Headquarters
London Edit this on Wikidata
,
United Kingdom Edit this on Wikidata
OwnerSavvy Games Group
ParentESL FACEIT Group
Websitefaceit.com

FACEIT is an esports platform founded in London in 2012.[1] The company has administered leagues for games such as Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Rocket League, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2.

In 2022, it was announced that FACEIT and esports company ESL were being acquired by Savvy Games Group (SGG), a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, for a combined $1.5bn. As part of the acquisition, the two companies are set to merge and form the ESL FACEIT Group.[2][3][4]

Esports Championship Series

In April 2016, FACEIT announced the launch of their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, known as the Esports Championship Series (ECS).[5][6] In April 2017, the company partnered with the video sharing platform YouTube for the series.[7][8][9] ECS was one of the two premier Counter-Strike leagues, along with ESL Pro League.[citation needed]

The series was discontinued in 2020, replaced by a franchise-based league called Flashpoint.[10] It features 12 teams and a US$2,000,000 buy in spot, and offers co-ownership and revenue sharing to competing teams.[11]

In May 2022, FACEIT announced a multi-million dollar partnership agreement with the cryptocurrency fintech platform Cake DeFi. The agreement sees players participating in FACEIT matchups and tournaments to receive cryptocurrency rewards, with plans to pay more than half a million dollars to FACEIT users.[12]

Results

Season Date Location Champions Prize pool Ref
1 June 2016 United Kingdom London France G2 Esports US$945,000 [13][14]
2 December 2016 United States Anaheim Denmark Astralis (1) US$750,000 [15][16][17]
3 June 2017 United Kingdom London Brazil SK Gaming [18][19][20]
4 December 2017 Mexico Cancún European Union FaZe Clan [21][22][23]
5 June 2018 United Kingdom London Denmark Astralis (2) [24]
6 November 2018 United States Arlington Denmark Astralis (3) [25][26]
7 June 2019 United Kingdom London France Team Vitality US$500,000 [27]
8 November 2019 United States Arlington Denmark Astralis (4) [28]

FACEIT Major

Main article: FACEIT Major: London 2018

On 22 February 2018 Valve, the developers and owners of the Counter-Strike series, announced that FACEIT would host the thirteenth Global Offensive major, the FACEIT Major: London 2018. The event began in mid-September and concluded on 23 September 2018. It was the first Major hosted by FACEIT and the first Major hosted in the United Kingdom.[29] It had a US$1,000,000 prize pool and the playoff stage was held in Wembley Arena.[30] In the finals, Astralis defeated Natus Vincere to win its second Major title.

References

  1. ^ Spangler, Todd (26 January 2016). "ESports Startup FACEIT Raises $15 Million, Opens L.A. Office". Variety. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  2. ^ Wilde, Tyler (25 January 2022). "Major esports host ESL Gaming is now owned by Saudi Arabia". PC Gamer. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  3. ^ Jeffrey, Rousseau (24 January 2022). "Savvy Gaming Group purchases ESL Gaming and FaceIt". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  4. ^ "ESL and FACEIT merge to create the world's leading competitive gaming platform". ESL FACEIT Group. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  5. ^ Wembley, The SSE Arena. "Esports Championship Series | The SSE Arena, Wembley". www.ssearena.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  6. ^ "FACEIT announces $3.5million league". HLTV.org. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  7. ^ "YouTube has made its biggest eSports investment yet". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  8. ^ Tharakan, Anya George (17 March 2017). "YouTube makes its biggest esports bet with FACEIT streaming deal" – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. ^ "How do you deal with CS:GO gambling? Legitimize it". 2017.
  10. ^ Webster, Andrew (5 February 2020). "CS:GO's new team-owned league points to a different future for esports". The Verge. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  11. ^ "FACEIT to shut down ECS and focus on B Site league - Report". HLTV.org. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  12. ^ "FACEIT secures 'multi-million dollar' partnership with Cake DeFi". Esports Insider. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Sources: G2 nearing deal to acquire Jankos". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  14. ^ "ECS Season 2: 'If you are not evolving every single show, then you are going to fail'". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  15. ^ Cooke, Sam (12 December 2016). "Astralis win ECS Season 2 Finals". Esports Insider. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Teams expected to look sharper at IEM Sydney". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. ^ "ECS Season 2 Finals". HLTV.org. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  18. ^ "ECS launches Season 3". HLTV.org. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  19. ^ "Who is the best eSports player of the month?". Red Bull. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  20. ^ "ECS Season 3 - Group drawns and schedule announcement". Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  21. ^ "ECS Season 4 Finals — Faze win the Grand Final over Mousesports". Fragbite.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  22. ^ "FaZe has built an unbelievable CS team". Red Bull. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  23. ^ Cooke, Sam (18 December 2017). "FaZe Clan take home $250,000 after winning ECS Season 4". Esports Insider. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  24. ^ Fitch, Adam (20 March 2018). "ECS and YouTube to offer viewing incentives for Season 5". Esports Insider. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Astralis beat MIBR to win ECS Season 6". HLTV.org. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  26. ^ "ECS Season 6 Finals Schedule, Live Stream, How to Watch". DBLTAP. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  27. ^ "Vitality outclass FURIA to win ECS S7 Finals". HLTV.org. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  28. ^ "ASTRALIS BEAT LIQUID TO WIN ECS SEASON 8 FINALS". HLTV.org. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  29. ^ Mira, Luis (22 February 2018). "FACEIT to host next Major in London". HLTV.org. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  30. ^ Stubbs, Mike (22 February 2018). "FACEIT Brings $1 Million 'CS:GO' Major To Wembley In London". Forbes. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
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