 | |
| Nickname | The Boys in Blue |
|---|---|
| Short name | NV |
| Divisions | Apex Legends Marvel Rivals Super Smash Bros. Melee |
| Founded | November 19, 2007 (original version) January 17, 2025 (current version) |
| Folded | June 27, 2022 (original version) |
| Team history | Team EnVyUs (2007–2017) Team Envy (2017–2022, 2025–present) |
| Based in | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Colors | Dark blue, blue, black, white[1] |
| CEO | Mike "Hastr0" Rufail |
| Main sponsor | |
| Parent group | Envy Gaming |
| Website | envy |
Team Envy is an Americanesports franchise based inDallas, Texas, owned byEnvy Gaming. Founded in 2007 as a professionalCall of Duty team under the monikerTeam EnVyUs, they fielded rosters inCounter-Strike,FIFA,Fortnite,Gears of War,Halo,League of Legends,Chess,Magic: the Gathering,Overwatch,Paladins,PUBG,Rocket League,SMITE,StarCraft,Super Smash Bros.,Street Fighter andValorant in their original form. Following the merger between Envy Gaming andOpTic Gaming, Envy Gaming retired the Team Envy brand in June 2022, shifting all of them to the OpTic Gaming moniker.[2]
On January 17, 2025, Mike "Hastr0" Rufail announced that he re-acquired the Team Envy name, as well as associated trademarks, from OpTic, reviving the franchise.[3] Envy has since enteredApex Legends andMarvel Rivals, as well as re-enteringSuper Smash Bros and Valorant.
Team EnVyUs was founded on November 19, 2007, as aCall of Duty 4 esports team by Skyler "FoRePlayy" Johnson and Tosh "Stainville" McGruder. The team finished runners-up in both the2008 and2009MLG National Championships, with the 2009 roster fielding future owner Mike "Hastr0" Rufail.[4]
At the2011 National Championship, the final event of theCall of Duty: Black Ops season, Envy once again finished runners-up following a 5-match loser's bracket run; the event also marked the beginning of the classic rivalry withOpTic Gaming, dubbed the eClasico, after defeating them in the loser's bracket final.[5][6]
In April 2013, as part of theCall of Duty: Black Ops II season, Envy competed in the inaugural US$1 millionCall of Duty Championship; their roster for the tournament notably included Stainville, Raymond "Rambo" Lussier and Jordan "JKap" Kaplan. Non-favorites entering the event, the team showed they belonged after beating the undefeated Fariko Impact 3–2 in the winner's bracket finals to book a place in the grand finals. The grand finals consisted of a best-of-11 continuation series re-match with Fariko, where Envy would fall just short after losing 5–6 following a game 11 Search and Destroy, winner-takes-all, showdown. The final round earned the title of "the most famous round of Search and Destroy in Call of Duty history", as well as the match being widely considered one of the "greatest series ever played" inCall of Duty history.[7] The following month, on May 5, Team Envy won their first ever prized LAN championship and only Black Ops II title at UGC Niagara.[8][9]
In March 2014, as part of theCall of Duty: Ghosts season, Envy competed in the2014 Call of Duty Championship. The team would once again finish 2nd after producing a miracle run starting from round 1 of the loser's bracket, including a 3–1 victory over OpTic in the loser's bracket final.[10] On June 25, 2014, they announced the return of JKap and the acquisition of Matthew "Formal" Piper.[11] The new roster won Gfinity 3, Envy's first major LAN championship, andSeason 3 of MLG's Ghosts Pro League. However, the roster was short-lived as afterESWC 2014, the last event of Ghosts, starAR player Formal and Envy mutually agreed to part ways.[12][8]
Moving intoCall of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Envy made multiple roster changes throughout a disappointing season. The team managed a top-12 finish at the2015 Call of Duty Championship, before reaching their only final at UGC Niagara 2015. They ended the season with a 4th-place finish at the2015 MLG World Finals.[13][8]
In April 2016, Envy acquired Bryan "Apathy" Zhelyazkov and Johnathon "John" Perez to join JKap and Austin "SlasheR" Liddicoat for the latter half of theCall of Duty: Black Ops III season.[14] Together they won Stage 2 of theNA Call of Duty World League, Envy's first major championship since Ghosts.[15] The team then participated at the2016 MLG Orlando Open, where following a loser's bracket run they met OpTic in the grand finals. In the finals they took the first best-of-5 series 3–2, before being swept in the deciding series.[8] In the last event of the season, in September 2016, Envy competed in the2016 Call of Duty World League Championship. The team went undefeated in the group stages and drew a winner's bracket round 1 match-up with heavy favorites OpTic, who they had not defeated onLAN in over two years. A 3–1 victory over OpTic, followed by a 3–0 overFaZe Clan opened the path to the grand finals where they metSplyce in the first everNorth American vs.European final. Team Envy took down Splyce 3–1 to finally break their 2nd place curse and win theCall of Duty Championship; securing $800,000 as part of the largest Call of Duty prize pool.[16][8][17]
Maintaining their championship winning roster, they headed into theCall of Duty: Infinite Warfareseason. The first three-quarters of the season proved disappointing as the team failed to live up to their Black Ops III success, with their only notable result being a 3rd-place finish at the 2017 MLG Atlanta Open in February 2017.[18] It was not until the last two events that Envy bounced back. In July 2017, the team finished runners-up atStage 2 of the 2017 CWL Global Pro League.[19] In August 2017, they competed in the2017 Call of Duty World League Championship where they attempted to become the first back-to-back champions. In the winner's bracket semi-finals they defeated eUnited 3–1, which included their famous second half 0–10 to 12–10 Uplink comeback.[20] In the winner's bracket final they defeated OpTic to book their place in a record 4th Call of Duty Championship grand finals, however this time around the roster would be heartbroken as they lost both best-of-5 series to OpTic in a rematch to finish in 2nd place.[21]
Heading intoCall of Duty: WWII, Envy released JKap, Apathy, and John.[22] In November 2017, they revealed their new roster which included Cuyler "Huke" Garland who had been competing inTeam Envy's Halo division as he was too young (under the age of 18) to compete in the Call of Duty World League.[23]
On September 22, 2018, Envy acquired the roster ofEvil Geniuses consisting of ACHES, Apathy, Assault and SiLLy. They will join the organization and pair with Huke to complete the roster.[24]
Team Envy's parent companyEnvy Gaming purchased a Call of Duty League slot in late 2019, ending Team Envy'sCall of Duty division. The team,Dallas Empire, competes in the league in the 2020 season.[25]
Team Envy officially entered theCounter-Strike scene, their first venture into PC Esports, on February 2, 2015, after acquiring the FrenchCounter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) squad ofTeam LDLC led by captainVincent "Happy" Schopenhauer.[26]
In March 2015, Envy finished 3rd–4th in their firstmajor appearance,ESL One Katowice 2015, after losing toNinjas in Pyjamas 0–2 in the semi-finals.[27] Shortly afterwards, in March, the team won their first ever championship at the Gfinity Spring Masters.[28] On June 21, 2015, they traded Richard "shox" Papillon andEdouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux toTitan in exchange forKenny "kennyS" Schrub and Dan "apEX" Madesclaire.[29] With the new roster they finished runners-up at theESL One Cologne 2015 major, before finally winning their first major championship atDreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 after defeatingNatus Vincere 2–0 in the grand finals.[30][31] Following theNovember 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, Envy withdrew fromIEM San Jose due to travel safety concerns.[32] The team ended the 2015 season securing 7 championships and 11 grand final appearances.[33]
In March 2016, following an 11–12th-place finish atIEM Katowice 2016, Envy benched Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey due to communication problems andLDLC White's Timothée "DEVIL" Démolon replaced him in the starting line-up.[33] However, the change would prove unsuccessful and in October 2016, DEVIL was released with Christophe "SIXER" Xia replacing him.[34][35] On January 15, 2017, the team wonWESG 2016, securing US$800,000 as part of the largest CS:GO prize pool.[36][17]
In February 2017, kennyS, apEX, and Nathan "NBK" Schmitt departed toG2 Esports, with Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom, Cédric "RpK" Guipouy, and Alexandre "xms" Forté joining in their stead.[37][38] In late April, Envy officially revealed their academy project.
On June 20, 2018, Team Envy announced they had departed from theCounter-Strike esports scene following the release of their entire CS:GO roster.[39][40] On September 27, 2018, they announced a new North American team, signing the core of ex-Splyce.[41] Team Envy disbanded theirCS:GO division on January 11, 2021.[42]
The Team EnvyGears of War (GoW) division was founded on January 4, 2012, when the organization formed the professionalGoW team "EnVyUs MbN".[43] The team competed inGears of War 3, where they placed 4th in the LAN tournament Hypefestation 2.[44][45]
In October 2015, Envy announced they were re-entering theGoW competitive scene forGears of War: Ultimate Edition and were revealed as one of eight teams inESL's GoW Pro League.[46][47] In Season 1 of the league, Envy finished runners-up toDenial Esports.[48] In Season 2, they became champions after defeating Denial in a rematch of the finals following a 12–2 regular season record; the tournament win marked their first ever Gears of War title.[49] In July 2016, without dropping a single map, Envy won their second title at the Gears eSports European Open in London.[50]
Heading intoGears of War 4, Envy competed inthe Coalition's $1 million Gears Pro Circuit.[51] Their campaign included multiple second-place finishes, as well as the team's third championship in January 2017, when the team dethronedOpTic Gaming at the Mexico City Open, the first ever GoW event in Latin America.[52][53]
On June 13, 2017, shortly after the end of the Gears Pro Circuit, Team Envy announced they had departed from the Gears of War esports scene following the transfer of their roster toEcho Fox.[54]
The Team EnvyHalo division was founded on November 10, 2015, when the organization signed a professional esports team forHalo 5: Guardians; the roster included Justin "Pistola" Deese and Austin "Mickwen" McCleary.[55][56] The team failed to qualify for the2016 Halo World Championship after being knocked out of the group stages at theNA Regional Finals.[57]
Their first major breakthrough came in July 2016, when the team finished 3rd place at the NAHCS Pro League - 2016 Summer Finals.[58] In the offseason to follow, Envy acquired rookie Cuyler "Huke" Garland and veteran Eric "Snip3down" Wrona.[59] In November, they obtained their first Halo championship after winning HCS Las Vegas 2016.[60] Shortly afterwards, in December, the team dethroned OpTic Gaming and won their second championship at the NAHCS Pro League - 2016 Fall Finals.[61] Their 2016–17 season campaign ended with a runners-up finish at the 2017 Halo World Championship, where the team produced a 5–0 loser's bracket run before losing to OpTic Gaming in the grand finals.[62][63]
In May 2017, Envy won their third Halo championship at HCS Daytona 2017.[64] Their 2017–18 season campaign ended in April 2018, following a 3rd-place finish at the 2018 Halo World Championship.[65] On May 24, 2018, Team Envy announced they had departed from the Halo esports scene following the release of their roster.[66]
Team Envy announced their return to theHalo esports scene on October 12, 2020, announcing four new players to compete under head coach Alex "Swift Kill" Ramirez for the upcomingHalo franchise gameHalo Infinite.[67] After the merger of Envy Gaming andOpTic Gaming in 2021, OpTic took over Team Envy'sHalo division.[68]
On May 18, 2016, after passingRiot's vetting process, Team Envy officially purchased Renegades’NA LCS spot in a deal reportedly valued in excess of $1 million.[69]
In theirinaugural split, following a perfect 4–0 start, Envy finished in 6th place achieving a playoffs berth, where they were eliminated in the first round.[70] In the last chance Regional Qualifier for the2016 League of Legends World Championship, the team once again fell short after losing in the second round to eventual winners Cloud9.[71]
Following the 2017 Spring Split, Envy faced relegation and had to compete in the Summer Promotion Tournament. In the Promotion Tournament, they qualified into the2017 NA LCS Summer Split after defeating Gold Coin United 3–2 in the loser's bracket finals.[72]
On November 20, 2017, Team Envy withdrew from League of Legends after their franchise application for the2018 NA LCS season was declined.[73][74]
| Split | Record (win–loss) | Pos | Playoffs | Regional Qualifier | Promotion | MSI | Rift Rivals | Worlds | Roster | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | Games | Top | Jungle | Mid | ADC | Support | Coach | Sub[a] | ||||||||
| Summer 2016 | 8–10 | 17–25 | 6th | 5th–6th | 3rd | — | n/a | none | — | Seraph | Proxcin | Ninja | LOD | Hakuho | Miracle | none |
| Spring 2017 | 3–15 | 14–31 | 10th ↓ | — | n/a | 2nd ↑ | — | n/a | n/a | LirA ♦[75] | Apollo | Dylan Falco | Alex Ich | |||
| Summer 2017 | 8–10 | 21–26 | 6th | 5th–6th | — | — | n/a | — | — | LirA ♦[76] | Nisqy | viOLet | Pirean | |||
| Promoted ↑ | Relegated ↓ | 1st All-Pro Team ♦ | 2nd All-Pro Team ♦ | 3rd All-Pro Team ♦ |
Formed during theOverwatch closed beta in February 2016,Team EnVyUs acquired the players of Team Hubris, a North American squad that finished first in six of the seven tournaments played during the beta, to officially create theirOverwatch esports division.[77] The team won Season 1 ofOGN'sOverwatch APEX in Seoul, Korea,[78][79] marking the first time that a Western-owned team had taken home an esports title on Korean soil.[80] Returning home from Korea, Team EnVyUs ended their pre-Overwatch League journey on a high, going undefeated and winning Season 1 of North America'sOverwatch Contenders.[81] On September 20, 2017,Blizzard officially announced thatEnvy Gaming had acquired the Dallas-basedOverwatch League franchise spot, making them one of twelve teams competing in theinaugural season.[82] The team was branded as theDallas Fuel, and all of the existing members of Team EnVyUs were transferred to the Fuel roster – ending Team Envy's Overwatch division.[83]
On July 2, 2018, Envy Gaming formally announced Team Envy's return toOverwatch Contenders as anacademy team for theDallas Fuel, as the team acquired EnVision Esports' Contenders slot and roster and signed former Team EnVyUs member Ronnie "Talespin" DuPree.[84][85] The team defeatedATL Academy in the 2019 Season 1 Finals by a combined map record of 7–1 to claim their second Overwatch Contenders regional title.[86][87] In 2019 Season 2 of Contenders, Envy defeatedNew York Excelsior's academy teamXL2 Academy in the finals to secure their third Contenders regional title.[88]
On April 27, 2020, Team Envy disbanded their Overwatch Contenders division.[89]
The Team EnvyRocket League division was founded on June 21, 2017, when the organization acquired Northern Gaming's active roster; the roster included Season 3 Rocket League Championship Series champions Remco "Remkoe" den Boer and David "Deevo" Morrow. The organisation separated with the roster on July 30, 2018.[90][91]
Team Envy reenteredRocket League on April 25, 2020, picking up the ex-Ghost roster consisting of players Braxton "Allushin" Lagarec, Massimo "Atomic" Franceschi, Nick "mist" Costello, and coach Spencer "furane" Taub.[92] Two months later, on June 25, 2020, four-time World ChampionPierre "Turbopolsa" Silfver was added to the starting roster, moving Allushin to the inactive roster.[93] On August 6, 2020, Allushin was confirmed to have left Envy, having joined The Peeps ahead of RLCS Season X.[94] Envy would qualify for the 2021 fall major finishing 12th-14th. On June 27th 2022 the roster would move to optic gaming after the two organizations merged
The Team EnvySMITE division was founded on October 5, 2015, when the organization acquired theNorth American team AFK Gaming.[95] The team's only championship came in January 2016, when they won the2016 SMITE World Championship - Xbox One Invitational.[96] In May 2016, during a match against SoaR, Envy violated the SMITE Pro League code of conduct after they forfeited their second game less than two minutes in; the pro-level rage-quit is branded "the worst match in SPL history" and resulted inHi-Rez sanctioning each participating Envy player with a $500 fine.[97]
On November 30, 2016, Team Envy announced they had departed from theSMITE esports scene following the release of their roster.[98]
On July 13, 2020, Team Envy signed as an official organization for Valorant esports. They signed on Adam "aKis" Kisseberth, Abdo "C4Lypso" Agha, Pujan "FNS" Mehta, Anthony "mummAy" DiPaolo, and Jake "kaboose" McDonald as their first 5.[99] After participating in a few events, Team Envy took the next step in building out their Valorant roster. On September 12, they added Victor "Victor" Wong and Austin "Crashies" Roberts and added "aKis" and "C4Lypso" to their reserve team.[100] On June 30, 2021, they loaned Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen from FaZe Clan and moved Jake "kaboose" McDonald to the bench. On August 5, 2021, they acquired Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker fromAndbox and moved Anthony "mummAy" DiPaolo to the bench.[citation needed] When asked the difference between Andbox and Team Envy, yay commented that Envy's players were "more instinctual" and that they "understand how to support my playstyle better so that I am best set up for success".[101] On February 10, 2022, the team announced that it would be competing under theOpTic Gaming brand moving forward.[102]
On March 8th, 2025, Team Envy rejoined the Valorant competitive scene by signing the highly successful "RANKERS" roster. The team, composed of Matteo "P0PPIN" Weber, "ion2x", "Eggsterr", Hunter "Inspire" Schline, and canezerra, along with head coach Dakota "Stunner" MacLeod, had demonstrated exceptional form throughout late 2024 and early 2025 in the North American Tier 2 scene.
On January 17, 2025, to accompany the relaunch of Team Envy, the team signed theApex Legends roster Loan Sharks, consisting of Dropped, Knocked, YanYa and coach raven (who coachedTSM to the Year 3 Championship). The team will compete at theApex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Year 4 Championship inSapporo, Japan.[103]
| Team EnvyApex Legends roster | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||
|
N/A
N/A | ||||||||||||
Legend:
| Latestroster transaction: January 17, 2025. | ||||||||||||
In March 2017, it was revealed that prior to becomingchief business officer of Team Envy, John Brock had invested a seven-figure sum into the team.[104] In August 2017, John Brock confirmed that the reported multimillion-dollar investment from venture capital firm SierraMaya360, in late 2016, never materialized.[105]
On September 18, 2017, Team Envy owner Mike "Hastr0" Rufail confirmed that the organization had secured a multimillion-dollar investment fromHersh Interactive Group. The deal entailed Hersh serving as strategic partners to the organization, whilst Hastr0 would remain as the principal owner and operator of the team.[106][107][108]
In November 2017, Team Envy signed a multimillion-dollar, multiyear deal with the restaurant chainJack in the Box.[109][110]
In August 2020,Post Malone acquired a majority stake, joining as a co-owner.[111][112]
| Handle | Name | Main Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| Call of Duty | ||
| FoRePlayy | Skyler Johnson |
|
| Stainville | Tosh McGruder | |
| Hastr0 | Mike Rufail |
|
| Rambo | Raymond Lussier | |
| JKap | Jordan Kaplan | |
| Apathy | Bryan Zhelyazkov | |
| John | Johnathon Perez | |
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | ||
| Happy | Vincent Schopenhauer |
|
| KennyS | Kenny Schrub |
|
| Halo | ||
| Pistola | Justin Deese | |
| Mikwen | Austin McCleary | |
| Snip3down | Eric Wrona | |
| Huke | Cuyler Garland |
|
| Overwatch | ||
| INTERNETHULK | Dennis Hawelka |
|
| SMITE | ||
| Allied | David Hance |
|
| StarCraft | ||
| viOLet | Kim Dong-Hwan (김동환) |
|
| Date | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 3, 2015 | The Game Awards 2015 | eSports Player of the Year | Kenny "KennyS" Schrub | Won | [130] |
| March 19, 2016 | SXSW Gaming Awards 2016 | Most Valuable Esports Team | not specified | Nominated | [131] |
| November 21, 2016 | The eSports Industry Awards 2016 | eSports Team of the Year | All Games | Won | [132] |
