FaZe Clan

FaZe Clan (formerly FaZe Sniping) 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", "Fortnite Battle Royale" and "Rocket League". In 2020, the organization expanded into the Asian market, acquiring a Thai "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 (now known as "Timid") and Ben "Resistance" Christensen. The trio garnered a reputation for innovating trickshotting in the game "". Their YouTube content took off when Ted "Fakie" joined the clan. It was then when FaZe unveiled the most popular series on their channel, "ILLCAMS". FaZe Clan's focus on trickshotting and a personality/social-media approach led to FaZe Clan becoming one of the first popular YouTube video game channels, compared to other "Call of Duty" channels which were focused on winning tournaments. In 2012, the channel had one million subscribers, and the clan began to branch out into esports competitions. Teams under the FaZe name began competing in competitions such as the Call of Duty Championship and , who were separate from the clan's YouTube content creators, splitting members of FaZe Clan into two mostly autonomous camps. Originally, FaZe Clan did not have a corporate structure, however the original CEO was Brazilian Thomas "Temperrr" Oliveira, who had been a member of FaZe since he was 16 years old. Oliveira and COO Richard “Banks” Bengston created the first FaZe shared home in 2014 in Plainview, New York, where they could incorporate lifestyle content with their gaming content.
In 2015, former social media platform Hubrick, run by Norwegian entrepreneur Sebastian Guerts, decided to invest in FaZe Clan. Hubrick recruited former record executive Lee Trink to serve as CEO. In January 2016, FaZe Clan acquired European esports team G2 Esports's "" international lineup, who competed as FaZe Clan in the 2016 , The team won second place in , losing to US-based Cloud9. In 2017, Bengston moved to Los Angeles, starting a new shared home with YouTubers called the Clout House. FaZe Clan were the runners up in ESL Pro League Season 6 in 2017, and second runners up of ESL Pro League Season 7 and ESL One Cologne 2018. FaZe Clan were the champions of in 2017, winning $500,000 of prize money.
In 2018, Greg Selkoe, founder of streetware web retailer Karmaloop, became the president of FaZe Clan, with CEO Lee Trink stepping into the CEO role full-time. In late 2018, FaZe Clan opened its series A funding round. Throughout 2019, musicians Ray J, DJ Paul, Offset, Swae Lee, Yo Gotti, Pitbull, and Disco Fries, basketball players Meyers Leonard, Josh Hart, Ben Simmons, 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 closed its series A 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 its co-ownership of CTRL, a food supplement company.
Red Reserve.
On December 5, 2014, FaZe Clan announced the founding of Red Reserve as a subdivision to the organization. They would go on to upload content similar to FaZe's until June 2016, where they cut ties with FaZe to explore other opportunities under their own banner.
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. The studio would focus on creating feature films and scripted television series. The plan was accelerated due to the lack of live content being produced by traditional networks during the pandemic. Their first film, "Crimson", was released on October 29, 2020, and stars Brian "Rug" Awadis in a leading role.
Current divisions.
"Call of Duty".
FaZe France.
On September 19, 2013, FaZe eSniping, their competitive "Call of Duty" 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 stated they weren't satisfied with FaZe's plans and left to create their own organization.
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.
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-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.
On November 22, 2018, FaZe Clan collaborated with sportswear manufacturer Champion to release exclusive clothing. In 2019, Champion released exclusive clothing with FaZe on four different occasions. Champion is manufacturing most of the clothing released by FaZe. On March 14, 2019, FaZe Clan collaborated with clothing brand Siberia Hills for a limited-time hoodie release.
On March 21, 2019, FaZe Clan announced its partnership with automobile manufacturer Nissan. Nissan started producing two original series on FaZe's YouTube channel.
On September 26, 2019, football club Manchester City announced its partnership with FaZe Clan for content creation and clothing.
On July 20, 2019, FaZe Clan opened a booth at ComplexCon 2019, where they sold exclusive clothing in collaboration with Champion, label Lyrical Lemonade and clothing brand 24karats. They collaborated with 24karats again on August 16, 2019, to release clothing accessories, and with Lyrical Lemonade on November 27 of the same year. On September 17, 2019, FaZe Clan collaborated with headwear company New Era. Through November 3 to 22, 2019, FaZe Clan collaborated with designer Warren Lotas, sportswear brand Kappa and clothing brand CLOT respectively to release exclusive clothing. 
Philanthropy.
On April 11, 2018, FaZe Clan and Legia Warsaw listed one-of-a-kind polo shirts made for and signed by their ' players to 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.