In 2022, it was announced that FACEIT andesports companyESL were being acquired by Savvy Games Group (SGG), a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia'sPublic Investment Fund, for a combined $1.5bn. As part of the acquisition, the two companies are set to merge and form theESL FACEIT Group.[2][3][4]
In April 2016, FACEIT announced the launch of theirCounter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, known as the Esports Championship Series (ECS).[5][6] In April 2017, the company partnered with the video sharing platformYouTube for the series.[7][8][9] ECS was one of the two premier Counter-Strike leagues, along withESL Pro League.[citation needed]
The series was discontinued in 2020, replaced by a franchise-based league called Flashpoint.[10] It features 12 teams and a US$2,100,000 buy in spot, and offers co-ownership and revenue sharing to competing teams.[11]
In May 2022, FACEIT announced a multi-million dollar partnership agreement with the cryptocurrency fintech platform Cake DeFi. The agreement sees players participating in FACEIT matchups and tournaments to receive cryptocurrency rewards, with plans to pay more than half a million dollars to FACEIT users.[12]
On 22 February 2018Valve, the developers and owners of theCounter-Strike series, announced that FACEIT would host the thirteenth Global Offensive major, the FACEIT Major: London 2018. The event began in mid-September and concluded on 23 September 2018. It was the first Major hosted by FACEIT and the first Major hosted in theUnited Kingdom.[29] It had aUS$1,000,000 prize pool and the playoff stage was held inWembley Arena.[30] In the finals,Astralis defeatedNatus Vincere to win its second Major title.
London
G2 Esports
Anaheim
Astralis (1)
SK Gaming
Cancún
FaZe Clan
Team Vitality