FaZe Clan
FaZe Clan is a professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Los Angeles, United States. Founded on May 30, 2010, the organization has players from around the world, across multiple games, including Call of Duty, , PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA, Valorant and Fortnite Battle Royale. In 2020, the organization expanded into the Asian market, acquiring a PUBG Mobile and FIFA Online roster.
History
FaZe Sniping made its debut on YouTube on May 30, 2010. Originally, the group were a Call of Duty clan founded by three players, Eric "CLipZ" Rivera, Jeff "House Cat" Emann and Ben "Resistance" Christensen. The trio garnered a reputation for innovating trickshotting. Trickshotting had existed in the past, but FaZe was one of the first to do it as a team. Their YouTube content took off when "Fakie" joined the clan. It was then when FaZe unveiled the most popular series on their channel, ILLCAMS. In 2014, Thomas "Temperrr" Oliveira, who was running a lot of FaZe's operations, had Richard 'Banks' Bengston move in with him. After that moment, FaZe's content creators incorporated lifestyle content with their gaming content.In late 2018, FaZe Clan opened its series A funding round. From March to April 2019, three founding partners of marketing agency Cut + Sew, rappers Ray J and DJ Paul, and professional basketball players Meyers Leonard and Josh Hart invested in FaZe Clan, with the former basketballer later joining as a content creator under the nickname "Hammer". In August 2019 rapper Offset invested and joined the organization as a member. Throughout 2019, musicians Swae Lee, Yo Gotti, Pitbull, and Disco Fries, basketball players Ben Simmons and Jamal Murray, footballer Gregory van der Wiel, skateboarder Nyjah Huston, radio host Big Boy, music executives Sylvia Rhone, Troy Carter and Guy Oseary and actor Chris O'Donnell invested in FaZe Clan. In December 2019, FaZe Clan closed its series A round led by entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine and mobile e-commerce platform NTWRK. In January 2020, FaZe Clan obtained a $22.7 million investment loan from Canaccord Genuity, a Canadian financial company.
On June 18, 2020, FaZe Clan announced it's co-ownership of CTRL, a food supplement company.
FaZe France
On September 19, 2013, FaZe eSniping, a competitive sniping division, was announced with the joining of Raphael "Zydar" Zydar, Elliot "Hyspe" and Kevin "RanbOw", led by Anil "WaRTeK" Brancaleoni. On April 3, 2014, FaZe Clan announced the rebranding of FaZe eSniping to FaZe France. RanbOw left the team after one and a half years, with Anthony "Toto" replacing him. On May 26, 2015, the players and staff of FaZe France announced they weren't satisfied with FaZe's plans and left to create their own organization.Red Reserve
On December 5, 2014, FaZe Clan announced the founding of Red Reserve as a subdivision to the organization. The team would then start to upload Call of Duty sniper montages to their YouTube channel, the first being the announcement of the team. They would go on to continue uploading these montages partnered with FaZe until June 2016, where they cut ties with FaZe to explore other opportunities under their own banner.Atlanta FaZe
On May 2, 2019, Activision Blizzard announced that Atlanta Esports Ventures had purchased one of the first five franchise slots for the Call of Duty League. According to ESPN, the publisher was looking to sell slots for approximately $25 million per team. "We have the opportunity to — once again — play a pivotal role in Atlanta's diverse esports community by bringing the future of Call of Duty esports to the city," said Hamilton in a release at the time. AEV and FaZe Clan partnered together for the team, and in October 2019, they announced that the team would be named the Atlanta FaZe.FaZe Studios
In April 2020, it was reported that FaZe Clan and Michael Sugar, film and television producer and founder of Sugar23, partnered to form FaZe Studios, an entertainment studio. The new studio would focus on creating feature films and scripted television series.Esport rosters
Current rosters
Former players
Content creators
Current creators
Former creators
Partnerships and collaborations
FaZe Clan has been partnered with caffeinated drink mix brand Gamma Labs' G Fuel since 2012, which is currently one of the longest promotional collaborations in esports. As a part of the collaboration, the company released FaZe Clan-themed flavors, such as "FaZe Clan's Battle Juice" in 2019. On May 2, 2019, Atlanta Esports Ventures announced the purchase of a franchise spot in Call of Duty league in partnership with FaZe Clan. The resulting team, Atlanta FaZe, was announced on October 26, 2019.Philanthropy
On April 11, 2018, FaZe Clan and Legia Warsaw listed one of a kind polo shirts to Charytatywni Allegro, a charity auction website. The proceeds would go to purchasing equipment for the Institute of Mother and Child. On February 12, 2020, FaZe Clan collaborated with the Ronald McDonald House Charity in Los Angeles to create a gaming lounge in the building. It was announced on the 27th. On March 15, 2020, FaZe Clan unveiled Fight 2 Fund, its four week charity event, in which social media influencers, YouTubers, streamers, celebrities, sportspeople and musicians participate. Viewers could donate money, which would be donated to charities helping people impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019. The event raised over $124,000.Controversies
On May 7, 2014, former FaZe graphics designer and creators of its logo, Joey "Ferox" Ricciuto released a video, stating that "he felt used and not respected". A year later, Oliveira released a statement, saying "Ferox helped us with a lot of our early graphics design in our history. I always gave him my input on how I wanted the team to be branded." Oliveira also addressed the creation of the FaZe logo: "Did he create the FaZe logo? No. I came up with the concept of it. He designed it."On July 16, 2016, journalist Richard Lewis published messages purporting to show that FaZe owners Nordan "Rain" Shat and Richard "Banks" Bengston owned CSGOWild, a betting site. Two days later, YouTuber "HonorTheCall" uploaded a video where he accused them of knowing the outcome of rolls in advance. On the same day, CSGOWild
Shat denied Bengston's statements.
On January 26, 2015, FaZe Clan announced co-producing the video game Starnet Eclipse with iCazual Entertainment. In the video, FaZe solicited donations, which would give donors exclusive content, to fund the game. iCazual promised to release the game in June 2015, but instead released a pre-alpha version. iCazual stated that the game was scheduled to be released again in 2016, but nothing came to fruition. On September 5, 2016, YouTuber 'HonorTheCall' released a video about the game's delays, promises, and high prices, pointing to being a scam. iCazual promptly released a statement, in which they said they are issuing refunds to the donors. It is speculated that the game's development has been halted.
On May 20, 2019, professional player for FaZe, Turner "Tfue" Tenney, filed a lawsuit on FaZe, alleging that the organization had deprived him of business opportunities and taking up to 80 percent of his sponsorship revenue. Tenney also claimed that some members had encouraged him to gamble and drink while underage. FaZe released a statement denying the claims and stating they have not collected any money based on Tenney's tournament winnings or social media revenue, and only collected 20 percent of his sponsorship revenue. Tenney later recanted the claim regarding underage gambling and drinking. Tenney's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, says the two main reasons for the lawsuit are FaZe operating as a talent agency without having the license to do so, and Tenney's 6 month restrain from live streaming after the expiry of his contract. Freedman claims that Tenney is an artist and entertainer foremost. FaZe's chief executive officer Lee Trink responded: "The salary was for his professional gaming skills. He doesn't convert to something else because he has other interests." On August 1, 2019, FaZe counter sued Tenney for "divulging confidential information, publicly slandering the company, advocating for others to leave the company,...". Tenney signed his contract in the state of New York, the contract says all litigation must be done in New York. Tenney filed the lawsuit in California, using its laws about the talent agency claims, while FaZe filed it in New York.
Tenney also claimed FaZe signed a minor, Patrick "H1ghSky1", and continuously lied about his age, violating the California Labor Code. At the time of H1ghSky1's signing, he was only 11-years-old. He was suspended from multiple social media websites and from competing in the Fortnite World Cup 2019.
On February 29, 2020, professional player for FaZe, Daniel "Dubs" Walsh, said a racial slur during a livestream. FaZe indefinitely suspended Walsh from representing them while he undergoes sensitivity training. FaZe removed Walsh's suspension on April 2.