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Gen.G

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Gen.G
Full nameGeneration Gaming[1]
Short nameGEN / GenG
Games
FoundedAugust 2017
Based in
OwnersKevin Chou
Kent Wakeford
Michael Li
Phillip Hyun
Websitegeng.gg

Gen.G (Korean: 젠지, stand for "Generation Gaming"), also called Gen.G Esports and previously known as KSV Esports, is a professional esports organization with headquarters in Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai. According to Forbes, Gen.G is the eighth most valuable esports organization in the world as of May 2022, worth US$250 million.[2]

History

[edit]

Gen.G Esports was formed in 2017 as KSV eSports by Kevin Chou and Kent Wakeford, co-founders of the video game development company Kabam, Michael Li, and Phillip Hyun. The organization started out by acquiring the rights for an Overwatch League franchise in Seoul, South Korea. The purchase reportedly amounted to $20 million with the intention to hire both an all-Korean roster as well as an all-Korean management staff.[3] This team would later be known as the Seoul Dynasty. On May 3, 2018, KSV eSports announced a rebranding to Gen.G.[4] On January 20, 2020, Gen.G was unveiled to be behind an NBA 2K League franchise called the "Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai", the first franchise to not be affiliated with an NBA team, and the first franchise outside of North America. Along with the announcement, Gen.G announced that itself and the NBA 2K League were working together in a "long-term strategic relationship".[5] On August 27, 2020, Gen.G was announced as one of the 10 selected teams as part of League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) franchising.[6] On September 21, 2022, Gen.G was announced as one of the 10 teams competing in the inaugural season of the VCT Pacifics league.[7]

On May 6, 2024, the Esports World Cup Foundation, funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and organizers of the Esports World Cup tournament series, announced the 30 organizations (known in the ESWC as Clubs) who would make up the Club Support Program, with Gen.G being one of them. This program gives teams a one-time six-figure stipend if an organization is willing to enter new esports as well as additional funding each year if they drive viewership and fan engagement to the Esports World Cup.[8]

Current divisions

[edit]

League of Legends

[edit]

The KSV League of Legends team was formed on November 30, 2017, with the acquisition of Samsung's esports division, which included the 2017 World Champions Samsung Galaxy roster and records.[9] The team, now named Gen.G Esports, would qualify for the 2018 League of Legends World Championship, but would end up being knocked out promptly in the group stage, with a 1–5 record, in a year with a particularly bad showing from the South Korean teams.[10]

Due to missing out on the 2019 World Championship, the team's next appearance on the world stage would be at the 2020 World Championship. Gen.G would make it to the quarterfinals of the 2020 World Championship before being eliminated by G2 Esports. Gen.G made it to the semifinals of the 2021 World Championship, but they were eliminated by Edward Gaming, which went on to become that year's world champions.

During the 2022 LCK Summer Split, Gen.G won their first LCK championship, defeating T1 in the final 3–0 to qualify as the first seed for the 2022 World Championship.[11] At Worlds, Gen.G grouped up against 100 Thieves, CTBC Flying Oyster, and Royal Never Give Up. After finishing first, they were placed against the 3rd Korean seed DWG KIA in the quarter finals, who they beat in a 3–2 series.[12] In the semi-finals, Gen.G faced DRX, the 4th seeded team from Korea and lost the series 1–3.

Gen.G won the 2023 LCK Spring Finals.

Once again Gen.G became the champions[13] of LCK Spring 2023, by defeating T1 in the finals by 3–1. With this win, the team qualify as the first seed for the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational[14] along with T1. Gen.G had lost to T1 with score 2-3 and later lost to Bilibili Gaming with score 0–3, finished at 4th place in Bracket Stage. On August 20, 2023, Gen.G defeated T1, became the champions[15] of LCK Summer 2023.

Before the start of the 2024 season the team went through several changes, with Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon, Han "Peanut" Wang-ho, and Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong leaving the roster to join Hanwha Life Esports.[16] To replace them, the organisation signed Kim "Kiin" Gi-in, Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu, and Son "Lehends" Si-woo.[17] The roster found immediate success after the organisation won its fourth consecutive LCK title in the 2024 LCK Spring Split final, defeating T1 3–2 in a close series which allowed them to qualify for the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational.[18][19] There, the roster made it to the grand final of the event after defeating Bilibili Gaming 3–1 in the upper bracket final.[20]

NBA 2K

[edit]

On September 26, 2019, the NBA 2K League today announced that Gen.G Esports would launch an NBA 2K League team from Shanghai that will join the other 22 NBA 2K League teams for the 2020 season. Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai was the first NBA 2K League team outside of North America.[21]

PUBG: Battlegrounds

[edit]

On November 7, 2017, KSV announced its entrance into the PUBG scene, with the team KSV Asel.[22] Just a few weeks later, on December 7, 2017, KSV added a second team for PUBG, KSV Notitle aka KSV NTT.[23] On August 16, 2018, Gen.G announced the merging of the two teams.[24] The resulting team has proved very successful over the years, winning the first PUBG World Championship - PUBG Global Invitational 2018, the 2019 Global Championship, and placing third at the 2021 PUBG Global Invitational.

Rocket League

[edit]

On September 28, 2022, Gen.G Mobil1 Racing was formed as a result of a partnership between Gen.G Esports and Mobil 1. ApparentlyJack, Chronic and noly joined the starting roster, with Pollo as substitute.[25] Allushin joined as coach on the 30th.[26]

Valorant

[edit]

On May 4 entered Valorant with the acquisition of FRENCH CANADIANS.[27] Gen.G would win the first major North American VALORANT, T1 x Nerd Street Gamers Invitational.[28] Gen.G would go on to win an additional 3 tournaments in 2020 - Pittsburgh Knights Tournament Series, Pulse Invitational, and Pittsburgh Knights Before Christmas. After being accepted into the Valorant Pacific League, Gen.G moved its Valorant operations to Korea.[citation needed]

During the 2024 season, Gen.G quickly rose to the top, winning the Pacific Kickoff tournament by beating Paper Rex 3–1 in the grand final and qualifying for Masters Madrid. They continued their winstreak in Madrid, becoming the first Korean team to reach an international grand final, but narrowly losing out to Sentinels 2–3. Following this, Gen.G reached their third grand final in VCT Pacific Stage 1, but were beat out by Paper Rex 2–3 in the end. In the subsequent Masters Shanghai, Gen.G went on a flawless run, eventually defeating Team Heretics 3–2 in the grand final and becoming the first Pacific team to hoist an international trophy. Gen.G maintained their dominance in VCT Pacific Stage 2, beating out DRX 3–1 in the grand final and qualifying to Valorant Champions 2024. Their year would come to an end as Sentinels eliminated them in the group stage.

Rosters

[edit]
Gen.G rosters
League of Legends
Handle Name Nationality
Kiin Kim Gi-in South Korea
Canyon Kim Geon-bu South Korea
Chovy Jung Ji-hun South Korea
Peyz Kim Soo-hwan South Korea
Lehends Son Si-woo South Korea
League of Legends Global Academy
Handle Name Nationality
Casting Shin Min-je South Korea
Zest Kim Dong-min South Korea
Winner Woo Joo-sung South Korea
Quid Lim Hyeon-seung South Korea
Carfe Lee Ju-chan South Korea
Lospa Park Joon-hyeong South Korea
PUBG
Handle Name Nationality
Pio Cha Seung-hoon South Korea
Inonix Na Hee-joo South Korea
Esther Go Jeong-wan South Korea
Asura Substitute player Jo Sang-won South Korea
Rocket League Mobil1 Racing
Handle Name Nationality
ApparentlyJack Benton, Jack England
Firstkiller Corral, Jason United States
Chronic Iwanski, Nick United States
Valorant
Handle Name Nationality
t3xture Kim Na-ra South Korea
yoman Chae Young-moon South Korea
Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom South Korea
Foxy9 Jung Jae-sung South Korea
Karon Kim Won-tae South Korea
Valorant Black
Handle Name Nationality
Carlee Gress, Carlee United States
hannah Reyes, Hannah United States
LeeLee McNeil, Lee Lee United States
Tiraye Knox, Tiraye United States
Lynn Clarke, Lynn United States
Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (L) On loan
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • Substitute player Substitute
  • Injured Injury / Illness

Former division

[edit]

Heroes of the Storm

[edit]

On October 24, 2017, it was announced that KSV acquired the rosters of two South Korean Heroes of the Storm (HOTS) teams - MVP Black and MVP Miracle.[29] On November 28, KSV announced it had to drop the now KSV Miracle roster, due to restrictions from Blizzard.[30] KSV Black/Gen.G roster would go on to win 3 Global Championships (2017 HOTS Global Championship, 2018 HOTS Global Championship Mid-Season Brawl, 2018 HOTS Global Championship) before Blizzard ended HOTS esports in December 2018.[31]

Clash Royale

[edit]

On February 26, 2018, Gen.G announce the founding of the Clash Royale division in the Clash Royale League China with Cheshen, D.King, XiaoK, Little Chen and Winds.[32] Gen.G Esports withdrew from the Clash Royale League on November 4, 2019.[33]

Fortnite

[edit]

On October 25, 2018, Gen.G entered Fortnite by signing an all-female Fortnite team, TINARAES, and maddiesuun.[34][35] In August 2019, Gen.G partnered with dating app Bumble to create an all-female Fortnite team known as "Gen.G Team Bumble".[36][37][38]

TINARAES would become the first female Fortnite player to win a major competitive Fortnite even in 'Twitch Rivals: TwitchCon Fortnite Showdown' with Rhux and Pika.[39] Gen.G would also sign 14 years old, Moqii, who would become the first female Fortnite pro to win a major Epic hosted solo Fortnite event 'European Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) qualifier'.[40]

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

[edit]

On January 31, 2019, Gen.G Esports enter Call of Duty with the signing of Team Space featuring Spacely, Maux, MajorManiak, Nagafen, Havok, and Nubzy as coach.[41] Gen.G would also bring on Envoy before CWL Fort Worth 2019.[42] Gen.G would finish CWL Anaheim 2019 in 2nd place [43] and finish 2019 CWL Pro League in 2nd place.[44] Gen.G would then be eliminated in last place in the Call of Duty Championship 2019.[45] Shortly after the CWL Championship 2019 Gen.G released all of their players since Gen.G would not be participating in the new Call of Duty League.[46]

Apex Legends

[edit]

On March 1, 2019, Gen.G Esports entered the Competitive Apex Legends by signing GrimReality, dummy, and silkthread.[47] On November 19, 2019, Gen.G released its Apex Legends roster due to poor performance.[48]

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

[edit]

On December 6, 2019, Gen.G signed the former core of Cloud9 along with the team's assistant coach.[49] Boston Major winner, Timothy "autimatic" Ta was signed, along with Kenneth "koosta" Suen, Damian "daps" Steele, and Chris "Elmapuddy" Tebbit as head coach. Three days later, Gen.G signed Sam "s0m" Oh after he was released from Team Envy.[50] Hunter "SicK" Mims was also announced as a stand-in for the IEM Katowice 2020 qualifiers until the final slot was filled. On December 22, Gen.G announced the signing Hansel "BnTeT" Ferdinand from top Chinese team TyLoo to finalize the roster.[51] Gen.G won the only in-person LAN in 2020 (due to COVID-19 pandemic), DreamHack Open Anaheim 2020, without dropping a map and currently remaining undefeated on LAN.[52] Gen.G would also win 2020 ESL One: Road to Rio - North America.[53] The roster was subsequently disbanded in February 2021, when its last member, Timothy "autimatic" Ta, was acquired by T1 in VALORANT.[54][55]

Overwatch

[edit]

Gen.G Esports' start came with the acquisition of an Overwatch League franchise spot, naming the team the Seoul Dynasty.[56] In the leadup to this announcement, KSV eSports acquired the roster of Lunatic-Hai, on August 21, 2017.[57]

Championships

[edit]
List of Gen.G Championships
League of Legends (3) Heroes of the Storm (3) PUBG: Battlegrounds (2) Rocket League (1)
  • Global Championship:
  • Global Invitational
  • Global Championship
  • Regional Invitational

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Murray, Trent (May 3, 2018). "KSV eSports Rebrands to Gen.G, and Expands into Clash Royale". The Esports Observer. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  2. ^ Knight, Brett (May 6, 2022). "The Most Valuable Esports Companies 2022". Forbes. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Takahashi, Dean (July 12, 2017). "Why Kabam cofounder Kevin Chou is diving into esports with Overwatch League's Seoul franchise". VentureBeat.
  4. ^ Takahashi, Dean (May 3, 2018). "KSV Esports rebrands as Gen.G, adds Clash Royale team". VentureBeat.
  5. ^ Lace, Thomas (January 20, 2020). "Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai unveiled for NBA 2K League". Esports Insider.
  6. ^ Jang, David (August 27, 2020). "Riot Games announces 10 preferred teams for the LCK franchising". INVEN Global.
  7. ^ "2023 VALORANT TEAMS REVEAL". VALORANT Esports. September 21, 2022.
  8. ^ Fudge, James (May 6, 2024). "30 Teams Selected for the Esports World Cup Club Support Program". The Esports Advocate. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  9. ^ Ji-hye, Shin (December 1, 2017). "Samsung sells off eSports team to KSV". The Korea Herold.
  10. ^ Geracie, Nick (October 20, 2019). "[Worlds 2019] Highlights and Takeaways from the Group Stage". InvenGlobal.
  11. ^ Garcia, Ethan (August 28, 2022). "Gen.G decimate T1 in 3-0 sweep to become LCK champions following extended technical difficulties delaying series start". Dot Esports.
  12. ^ Bernardo, Anna (October 24, 2022). "League of Legends Worlds 2022: Gen.G outlast DWG KIA 3-2 to make it to semifinals". Yahoo News. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  13. ^ Mahato, Ashish (April 9, 2023). "Gen.G upset fan-favorite T1 to be crowned as LCK Spring 2023 Champions". Esportsgen.
  14. ^ Mahato, Ashish (January 10, 2023). "The Mid-Season Invitational 2023 is coming to London, Check out the new format". Esportsgen.
  15. ^ Mahato, Ashish (August 20, 2023). "LCK Summer 2023 Winner: Gen.G defeats T1 to lift its second LCK trophy of the year". Esportsgen.
  16. ^ Leonardo Biazzi (November 29, 2023). "Gen.G builds incredible new LoL roster around star mid laner Chovy". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  17. ^ David Jang (November 30, 2023). "Gen.G Unveils its 2024 Roster and Coaching Staff". Inven Global. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  18. ^ David Jang (April 14, 2024). "Gen.G secures historic 4-Peat, Kiin named Finals MVP". Inven Global. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  19. ^ Mary Yang (April 15, 2024). "Gen.G take down T1 3-2 to win fourth straight LCK championship". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  20. ^ Cecilia Ciocchetti (May 16, 2024). "Gen.G devoured BLG at monumental MSI 2024 series". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Lace, Thomas (January 20, 2020). "Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai unveiled for NBA 2K League". Esports Insider. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  22. ^ Gen.G [@GenG] (November 26, 2017). "Support our KSV PUBG Team(AseL)'s new start!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Gen.G Thailand [@Gen_G_THAILAND] (December 7, 2017). "[SCHEDULE] 171208 AfreecaTV PUBG League - Pilot Season 1 รอบคัดเลือก เวลา 09.30 น.(ไทย)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Geg.G [@GenG] (August 16, 2018). "Regarding Gen.G PUBG roster change for PKL Season 2" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  26. ^ "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  27. ^ Castelot, Ophelie (May 4, 2020). "Gen.G Esports Introduces its New Valorant Team".
  28. ^ Alford, Aaron (May 5, 2020). "Gen.G Wins $25,000 Valorant Invitational".
  29. ^ Cooke, Sam (October 24, 2017). "KSV acquires top HotS teams MVP Black and MVP Miracle". esportsinsider.com.
  30. ^ "5. Team Rules And Requirements" (PDF). Blizzard Entertainment. January 1, 2018.
  31. ^ Gera, Emily (December 14, 2018). "Blizzard Is Ending 'Heroes of the Storm' Esports Plans". Variety.
  32. ^ D'Orazio, Nick (May 3, 2018). "It's official: KSV rebrands as Gen.G esports".
  33. ^ Gen.G [@GenG] (November 3, 2019). "Thank you Gen.G Clash Royale" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  34. ^ Takahashi, Dean (October 25, 2018). "Gen.G signs all-female Fortnite esports team".
  35. ^ Kobek, Patrick (September 29, 2019). "Who is Tinaraes? A Fortnite Twitch Rivals MVP Player Profile".
  36. ^ Pei, Annie (August 6, 2019). "Bumble has found its match, striking a deal with an all-women's Fortnite team". CNBC. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  37. ^ Fitch, Adam (August 6, 2019). "Gen.G partners with Bumble for all-women Fortnite team". Esports Insider. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  38. ^ "Bumble and Gen. G form first pro all-women 'Fortnite' team". Engadget. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  39. ^ Kobek, Patrick (September 28, 2019). "Tinaraes, Rhux and Pika Win Twitch Rivals Fortnite!".
  40. ^ Noack, Sven (March 8, 2020). "14-year old Moqii puts her mark on the Fortnite world".
  41. ^ Binkowski, Justin (January 31, 2019). "Gen.G signs SpaceLy's team for the 2019 Call of Duty World League season".
  42. ^ Donigan, Wyatt (March 6, 2019). "Gen.G makes surprising roster change just days before CWL Fort Worth".
  43. ^ Binkowski, Justin (May 16, 2019). "100 Thieves take down Gen.G to win CWL Anaheim 2019".
  44. ^ Byers, Preston (June 21, 2019). "EUnited defeat Gen.G to win 2019 CWL Pro League, break Clayster's 1,400-day championship drought".
  45. ^ Petrosyan, Alber (August 14, 2019). "Gen.G eliminated from CWL Championship 2019".
  46. ^ Byers, Preston (September 6, 2019). "Gen.G confirms it will not participate in inaugural season of franchised Call of Duty league".
  47. ^ "Gen.G Esports picks up Apex Legends team made of former Overwatch pros". March 2, 2019.
  48. ^ Gen.G [@GenG] (November 19, 2019). "Today we part ways with our #GenGApex team" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  49. ^ Burazin, Zvonimir (December 6, 2019). "Gen.G sign autimatic, daps, koosta". HLTV.org. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  50. ^ "Gen.G confirm s0m signing". HLTV.org. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  51. ^ "Gen.G confirm BnTeT signing". HLTV.org. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  52. ^ Biazzi, Leonardo (February 24, 2020). "Gen.G win DreamHack Open Anaheim without dropping a single map".
  53. ^ Cryptte (May 12, 2020). "Gen.G win ESL One: Road to Rio - North America".
  54. ^ Rutledge, Caroline (December 15, 2020). "Gen.G Esports Places Entire CS:GO Roster Up For Transfer".
  55. ^ "T1 lands autimatic to help reworked roster". Reuters. Field Level Media. February 4, 2021.
  56. ^ "The Seoul Team of the Overwatch League Announces its Official Name, 'Seoul Dynasty'". Esports Marketing Blog. October 26, 2017.
  57. ^ Rosen, Daniel (August 22, 2017). "KSV signs Lunatic-Hai players to play for Seoul Overwatch League team". The Score Esports. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  58. ^ Prell, Sam (October 19, 2014). "Samsung White wins League 2014 World Championship". Engadget. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  59. ^ Goslin, Austen (November 4, 2017). "Samsung Galaxy wins the 2017 League of Legends World Championships". Rift Herald. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  60. ^ Cecilia Ciocchetti (May 20, 2024). "Gen.G breaks LPL stranglehold over MSI with historic win to secure Worlds spot". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  61. ^ Cooke, Sam (October 24, 2017). "KSV acquires top HotS teams MVP Black and MVP Miracle". Esports Insider. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  62. ^ Chen, Amy (June 19, 2018). "Heroes of the Storm: The Epic HGC Mid-Season Recap". Comics Gaming Magazine. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  63. ^ Rizzo, Tim (November 3, 2018). "Gen.G Esports becomes first back-to-back HGC world champion". Inven Global. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  64. ^ Newell, Adam (July 26, 2018). "Gen. G Gold take the TPP title at the PUBG Global Invitational 2018". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  65. ^ Asuncion, Joseph (November 26, 2019). "Gen.G Esports wins the PUBG Global Championship 2019". One Esports. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  66. ^ Thielmeyer, Max. "Gen.G Wins 'Rocket League' Championship Series Fall Major, Erases All Doubt Around Team". Forbes. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
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