 | |
| Short name | TLN, TALN |
|---|---|
| Divisions | |
| Founded | 2017 (2017) |
| Based in | Hong Kong |
| CEO | Xiao "Sean" Zhang[1] |
| Partners | New Wave Esports |
| Motto | "Soar with Talon" |
| Website | talon |
Talon Esports (stylized simply asTALON) is a professionalesports organisation based inHong Kong with teams competing across theAsia Pacific. ItsLeague of Legends team was partnered withPSG Esports and known asPSG Talon. PSG Talon competed in thePacific Championship Series from 2020 to 2024.[2][3][4] PSG Talon also has a division inRainbow Six: Siege, based in South Korea.[5][6]
Talon'sLeague of Legends division is currently a partnered team in theLeague of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP).
Riot Games announced on 19 December 2019 that Talon Esports would be one of ten teams participating in the newly created Pacific Championship Series.[2][3] Talon Esports' inaugural roster consisted of top laner Su "Hanabi" Chia-hsiang,[7] jungler Kim "River" Dong-woo,[8] mid laner Kim "Candy" Seung-ju,[9] bot laner Wong "Unified" Chun-kit,[8] and support Ling "Kaiwing" Kai-wing.[9]
Talon Esports finished third in the 2020 PCS Spring regular season, qualifying for the first round of playoffs in the winners' bracket.[10] After winning three series and losing one, Talon Esports reached the finals where they faced off againstMachi Esports. Talon Esports came out on top after a close series and won their first PCS title.[11][12]
On 18 June 2020, Talon Esports announced that itsLeague of Legends team had partnered withPSG Esports and would henceforth compete as PSG Talon.[13][14] Mid laner Park "Tank" Dan-won was brought in as a substitute for the summer split, but was later promoted to the starting position after the departure of Candy on 9 July 2020.[15]
In a repeat of the spring split, PSG Talon finished third in the 2020 PCS Summer regular season and reached the finals after defeating the same teams in spring. This qualified the team for the2020 World Championship.[16] PSG Talon later faced Machi Esports once again in a rematch of the spring finals; however, this time Machi Esports defeated PSG Talon, forcing PSG Talon to start in the play-in stage of Worlds as the PCS' second seed.[17]
River and Tank were unable to participate in the play-in stage due to delayed visas, and were replaced with Hsiao "Kongyue" Jen-tso and Chen "Uniboy" Chang-chu respectively. Unified was also unable to participate in the first half of the play-in stage for the same reason, and was replaced with Chen "Dee" Chun-dee.[18][19]
Despite starting the play-in stage with three emergency substitutes, PSG Talon won both their games on the first day of competition, including an upset victory over group favouritesLGD Gaming.[20] PSG Talon later topped their group and qualified for the tournament's main event.[21] PSG Talon was placed in Group B for the main event, along with South Korea'sDAMWON Gaming, China'sJD Gaming, and Europe'sRogue. PSG Talon finished third in their group with a 2–4 win-loss record, ending their Worlds run.[22]
PSG Talon announced the departure of Tank on 31 October 2021[23] and the signing ofHuang "Maple" Yi-tang as his replacement on 10 December.[24]
PSG Talon finished first in the 2021 PCS Spring regular season, losing only a single game to second-placeBeyond Gaming. The team later reached their third consecutive PCS finals and swept Beyond Gaming to win their second PCS title.[25]
Unified was unable to participate in the2021 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI 2021) due to recurring cases ofpneumothorax. He was replaced with Beyond Gaming's Chiu "Doggo" Tzu-chuan.[26]
For the group stage of MSI 2021, PSG Talon was placed in Group B, along with Europe'sMAD Lions, Brazil'spaiN Gaming, and Turkey's Istanbul Wildcats. PSG Talon finished second in their group with a 4–2 win–loss record, only losing to first-place MAD Lions, and qualified for the "rumble" stage of the tournament. PSG Talon finished third out of six teams in the rumble stage, advancing to the knockout stage.[27] In the semifinals, China'sRoyal Never Give Up eliminated PSG Talon from the tournament after a four-game series.[28]
PSG Talon placed first in the 2021 PCS Summer regular season, finishing undefeated. After sweeping J Team in the semifinals, PSG Talon qualified for the2021 World Championship and their fourth consecutive PCS finals, where they defeated Beyond Gaming after another close series.[29]
PSG Talon's first-place finish in the 2021 summer split qualified them for the main event of the 2021 World Championship. The team was placed in Group C, along with China'sRoyal Never Give Up, South Korea'sHanwha Life Esports, and Europe'sFnatic.[30] PSG Talon finished third in their group and failed to qualify for the knockout stage.[31]
Ultimately, PSG Esports would end their partnership with Talon on 5 January 2025, before the start of the 2025League of Legends Championship Pacific (LCP) season, which the team were partners in. Talon kept their partnership slot in the LCP.[citation needed]
| Talon Esports roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cheng "CorGi" Pin-lun
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Roster updated 12 December 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Talon Esports extended its partnership withKFC on 31 January 2022 and gave the fast food chainnaming rights to itsArena of Valor team. The team was subsequently rebranded asKFC Talon Esports.[32]
| KFC Talon Esports roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chakapon "MistGunz" Pompranee
Lee Pattarapol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Latestroster transaction: 6 August 2023. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(September 2020) |
Talon Esports joined the professionalOverwatch scene in March 2017 by signing aTaipei-based roster, with Hongkonger Yip "Moowe" Chi-yeung being the only non-Taiwanese player. The team disbanded in late July after failing to qualify for the second season of the Overwatch Pacific Championship.[33]
In early 2018, Talon Esports signed an all-Korean roster to compete in the Pacific division ofOverwatch Contenders (later Pacific Contenders). The team has since underwent several roster changes and topped various Pacific Contenders seasons.
Talon Esports accepted an offer for a spot in the Korean Contenders Trials after the Pacific Contenders was discontinued.[34] The team disbanded in September 2022.[35]
Talon Esports announced in April 2023 that it would enter thePokémon Unite Championship Series with an all-Filipino roster.[36] The team will compete in the APAC-East Regional Qualifiers, where the top three teams get the chance to compete in the 2023Pokémon World Championships inYokohama,Japan. The team also has multiple opportunities to qualify for the tournament should they fail to qualify through the APAC-East Regional Qualifiers.
PSG Esports and Talon Esports announced that they had expanded their partnership toTom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege on 13 March 2024. The latter's existing team was subsequently rebranded under the PSG Talon name.[37][38]
On 22 September 2022, Talon Esports was announced as one of the partner teams for the Valorant APAC league.[39]
| Talon Esports roster | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Hector "Fr0sT" Rosario
Jovanni "Jovi" Vera | ||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Latestroster transaction: 31 May 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||
On 2 August 2024, Talon Esports announced its re-entry intoCounter-Strike 2, with a roster featuring players fromOceania.[40]
| Talon EsportsCounter-Strike 2 roster | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Daniel "djL" Narancic | ||||||||||||||||||
Legend:
| Latest roster transaction: 2 August 2024. | ||||||||||||||||||
New Wave Esports Corporation, a Canadian company which provides capital and advisory services to esports teams, announced a strategic investment in Talon Esports on 18 November 2019.[41][42][43]
Sean Zhang, CEO and co-founder of Talon Esports, announced on 12 October 2020 that his organisation had securedUS$2 million in seed funding from investors.[1]
On 6 May 2024, the Esports World Cup Foundation, funded by theSaudi ArabiaPublic 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 Talon Esports being one of them. This program gave Talon a one-time six-figure stipend if they were willing to enter new esports, as well as additional funding each year if they drive viewership and fan engagement to the Esports World Cup.[44]
