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PSG Esports
PSG Esports is a professional esports club which is department of parent French football club Paris Saint-Germain. They have active teams in EA Sports FC, League of Legends (PSG Talon), Rocket League and Arena of Valor. Formerly, the club also had teams in Dota 2, Brawl Stars, FIFA Online and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Its headquarters and training center are located at the Studio PSG in Boulogne-Billancourt, which also hosts the Paris Saint-Germain Academy Esports. OrganizationPSG StudioPSG Esports is headquartered in the PSG Studio, which also serves as the training center of its professional teams. This multifunctional 140m2 space, dedicated to sports and digital activities, is located in Boulogne-Billancourt, inside the headquarters of parent club Paris Saint-Germain.[1][2] Announced in December 2020, the studio opened during the first half of 2021.[1][3] The Gaming area hosts training sessions and competitions for PSG's professional teams as well as the Paris Saint-Germain Academy Esports.[1][2] It also serves as a recording studio for the creation of digital content.[1] The PSG Studio has a capacity of 19 people and is equipped with six PlayStation 5, five Nintendo Switch and five gaming PCs.[2] AcademyThe Paris Saint-Germain Academy Esports is the youth system of PSG Esports. It is located at the PSG Studio in Boulogne-Billancourt. Launched in December 2020, it aims to teach the practice of Esport through courses and training sessions on different video games and different media (PC or consoles), accompanied by professional coaches. The PSG Studio hosts video game fans of different ages from all over the world and offers course formats ranging from recreational to competitive (professional gaming).[1][4] Active teamsEA Sports FCFounded in October 2016, PSG Esports entered esports with the creation of the club's team in football video game EA Sports FC (formerly known as FIFA) that same month.[5][6] In doing so, parent club Paris Saint-Germain became the first big European club to launch their professional esports department.[7] Since their inception, the team has clinched six titles and boasted the likes of Daxe, Rocky, Agge, Rafifa13, Aameghessib, WNU Fiddle and Maniika.[5][6] Their maiden trophy came at the Esports World Convention championships in 2016 courtesy of Daxe,[8] who repeated the feat in the 2017 edition and then proceeded to win the Gamers Assembly later that same year.[9][10] Agge, for his part, brought home the Legia eSports Cup and the FUT Champions DreamHack Winter in 2016,[11][12] while WNU Fiddle claimed the Gfinity US Spring Cup in 2018.[13] The roster currently consists of coach Jojo and promising young French players Amarr and Nkantee.[6]
League of LegendsHaving acquired Team Huma's League of Legends (LoL) license in October 2016, PSG Esports debuted in the 2017 edition of the League of Legends Challenger Series with the aim of reaching the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), Europe's top LoL division.[14][15] The team's roster was revealed in December 2016, consisting of Steve, Blanc, Kirei, Sprattel and Pilot.[16] Duke joined as coach in February 2017.[17] Following two unsuccessful attempts to qualify for the LEC via the Challenger Series, the club withdrew from the game in October 2017, also citing issues with the revenue sharing model presented by Riot Games at the time.[15][18] PSG confirmed its return to LoL in June 2020. The club concluded a multi-year team partnership agreement with Hong Kong based professional esports organisation Talon Esports to form PSG Talon. The co-branded team competes in the Pacific Championship Series (PCS), with the season being divided into Spring and Summer.[15] PSG have won three Spring Splits (2021, 2022, 2023) and two Summer Splits (2021, 2023), for a total of five PCS titles.[19][20][21][22][23] PSG and Talon Esports extended their collaboration for a further three years in May 2023.[24]
Brawl StarsPSG Esports entered mobile game Brawl Stars in February 2019, with an all-French team featuring Trapa as coach and gamers SunBentley, TwistiTwik and Tony M.[25] They won their first trophy in September 2019, being crowned champions of the ECN Brawl Stars Summer.[26] After a roster makeover, the team — now composed of Asian players Response, CoupDeAce and Scythe — went on to clinch the Brawl Stars World Championship in November 2020. The tournament was a one-sided affair as PSG won all of their sets and pocketed $250k. They defeated both Nova Esports and SK Gaming by a score of 3–0 to reach the final, where PSG secured a further 3–0 victory, this time against INTZ, and the world title. Response was named MVP of the tournament.[27]
Rocket LeaguePSG Esports announced its participation in vehicular soccer video game Rocket League in September 2017 after signing the team of Ferra, Bluey and Chausette45.[28] The trio gave PSG their first title in November 2017, when they were crowned ESL Championnat National champions at the Paris Games Week.[29] The team won the DreamHack Leipzig next in February 2018.[30] Despite Bluey's departure in August 2018,[31] the new lineup — now featuring Fruity as his replacement — clinched The Colosseum later that month and retained the DreamHack title at Valencia in July 2019.[32][33] A few weeks later, however, PSG unexpectedly announced that its Rocket League roster had left the club.[34] Inactive since that statement, made in early August 2019, the club made its comeback on Rocket League by teaming up with British organization Tundra Esports in May 2023.[35] PSG.Tundra took part in the 2022–23 edition of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) and finished in 8th place, just shy of qualifying to the Major and World Championships.[6] The team won its first title, the RTBF iXPé Online Sessions, in June 2023.[36] Arena of ValorPSG Esports launched a team on Arena of Valor in July 2021. One of the most popular multiplayer online battle arena games in Asia, and particularly in Thailand, the team competes in the RoV Pro League, the Thai professional Arena of Valor tournament, and consists of an all-Thai roster and coach. Former team captain FirstOne, who transitioned from player to coach, has led his old teammates — Ash, Jdai, Nam-CS, Sharkz and Hrlquin — since their debut in August 2021.[6][37]
Inactive teamsFIFA OnlineBuilding on their success on Dota 2, PSG Esports and LGD Gaming expanded their partnership with a FIFA Online section in October 2018. The free-to-play dedicated to Asian territories entered the FIFA eWorld Cup circuit last year. The team's initial roster was made up of Yuwenc, MzDragon, Milano and Maniika.[38] The project, however, was short-lived. Maniika departed in July 2019, followed by Yuwenc, MzDragon and Milano soon after.[39][40] The club tried to rebuild with the signings of players Zarate and Ga but by 2020 they had also left the team, which has remained inactive ever since.[40] Mobile Legends: Bang BangFollowing their partnership with LGD Gaming on Dota 2 and FIFA Online, which allowed the club to enter the Chinese market, PSG Esports announced a new collaboration in February 2019, this time with the Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) team to create a Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team.[41] The club signed the roster of Indonesian Mobile Legends team RRQ, which consisted of Lemon, Tuturu, Liam, AyamJAGO, James and InstincT.[42] The deal saw PSG become the first traditional sports team to enter mobile esports games via the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang league with the rebranded PSG.RRQ roster.[43] In July 2019, after only seven months in which the PSG.RRQ team won the SEA Clash of Champions, the partnership between PSG and RRQ came to an end. Mainly, the club wanted to focus on other games, in particular Brawl Stars, which is exploding in Europe.[44] Dota 2 Formed initially as a partnership between Chinese powerhouse team LGD Gaming and Paris Saint-Germain in 2018,[45][46] the team found plentiful success in winning major tournaments like MDL Changsha Major (2018), WePlay AniMajor (2021) and three top 3 finishes at The International (2018 - 2nd, 2019 - 3rd, 2021 - 2nd).[citation needed] The team had 2 major rosters, from 2018 to 2020 the roster consisted of Ame, Somnus丶M, Fy, xNova and Chalice. The roster disbanded after a 3rd place finish losing to Team Liquid at The International 2019. From late 2020 to late 2022 the roster was formed by Ame, NothingToSay, Faith_bian, XinQ and y`. Before the start of The International 2023, the partnership between the two teams expired in September 2023. With this change, the roster under the PSG.LGD banner reverted back to playing under the LGD Gaming banner.[47] After a brief hiatus from the Dota 2 scene, Paris Saint-Germain eSports division entered into a partnership with the Qatari eSports team Quest eSports just before The International 2023.[48] The roster of TA2000, No!ob, Tobi, OmaR and kaori attended the tournament but crashed out in the group stage. After a challenging 2023 season, the team announced that its roster has been disbanded, and the organization is taking an indefinite break from Dota 2 esports.[49] Honours
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