Top 10 most valuable esports teams in 2020: 100 Thieves, FaZe, more

According to a new report from Forbes, the top 10 most valuable esports companies are worth a combined $2.4 billion, with some truly eyebrow-raising figures for teams like TSM, Cloud9 and FaZe Clan.

Forbes has released an annual estimate of the most valuable esports companies since 2018. Their sources for the figures comprise of “Company executives, investors, investment advisors, public documents.”

This does leave room for the organizations themselves to potentially inflate the figures somewhat, so should not be seen as an exact and accurate value. Rather, it is essentially an informed estimate.

Some of the standout moves from 2019 include 100 Thieves jumping 5 spots up to 5th, as well as the disappearance of Immortals Gaming from the top 10.

Top 10 most valuable esports companies

1. TSM: $410 million (+3%)
2. Cloud9 $350 million (-13%)
3. Team Liquid: $310M (-3%)
4. FaZe Clan: $305M (+27%)
5. 100 Thieves: $190M (+27%)
6. GenG: $185M (-)
7. Enthusiast Gaming: $180M (-)
8. G2 Esports: $175M (+6%)
9. NRG Esports: $155M (+3%)
10. T1: $150M (-)

In their report, Forbes says that overall esports revenue fell $150 million, largely due to the cancellation of most LAN events. This is said to have had a “knock-on effect” on merchandising and sponsorships too.

100 Thieves COO John Robinson said “The modern battlefield in gaming is for larger social media and YouTube talent.” 100 Thieves specifically now have a large roster of content creators, including the likes of Valkyrae, BrookeAB, Neeko, Yassou, CouRage, Tommey and more.

This has perhaps come at the expense of actual esports teams though. 100 Thieves pulled out of Counter-Strike, but have joined the Call of Duty League for the 2021 season. The company expects to make $16 million in revenue this year.

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FaZe Clan are similar to 100 Thieves in their approach to signing the biggest talent in content creation, not just competitive players. FaZe CEO Lee Trink said “What you have seen in the last year is other esports companies are catching on to what has been our philosophy from day one, which is to explore the outer reaches of what gaming can be.”

For Immortals, who dropped out of the top 10, are estimated to have sold the OpTic Gaming brand back to Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez for $10 million – significantly less than they bought it for.

With the hope that esports will return to putting on live events in 2021, an even bigger jump in these estimations could be expected. Although, the first CSGO major of 2021, which was scheduled for May, has already been canceled. So too has the Fortnite World Cup.