The Australian Esports Scene
The Australian esports industry, although arguably still in its infancy, is a constantly evolving and dynamic landscape. With a significant number of Aussies winning major international tournaments across a variety of esports titles, Australia has a strong history of cultivating elite world class talent. From players representing overseas organisations to homegrown clubs like Chiefs, Mindfreak, and Dire Wolves, as well as American teams which heavily invest in Australian talent like Renegades and 100 Thieves, the Australian scene is bursting with potential.
Whether represented by individual players or esports organisations, Australia has been present in many international esports titles, with the most notable examples including Dota 2, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Rocket League, Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) and Call of Duty. Looking domestically to the oceanic region, there are a wide range of esports titles that players can compete in.
Oceanic Esports Competitions
Image Credit: ESL | Joao Ferreira
ESL ANZ Championships – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Run by ESL Australia, this tournament pits 16 oceanic teams against one another for a $20,000 prize pool. The winner secures qualifying opportunities to CSGO’s world-class tournaments and 2nd place heads to the ESL Pro League.
ESL Challenger – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Most recently held at DreamHack Melbourne 2022, the ESL Challenger provided an opportunity for two Australian clubs to compete with six international teams from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. With a substantial $100,000 prize pool, the winner then qualified for the ESL Pro League.
LCO – League of Legends
Divided into two seasons (named splits), eight teams participate in a double round robin with the top five teams advancing to the split playoffs. The champion of Split 1 then secures a place to the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the winner of Split 2 qualifies for the World Championship. On top of these international qualifications each season has a prize pool of $30,000.
JBL Quantum Grand Slam – Rocket League
After eight teams progress through open qualifiers and another eight are invited, teams will battle it out online, where the top four get the chance to compete at PAX Australia. The four finalists will then play each other in a double-elimination tournament for a share of the $10,000 prize pool.
RLCS Oceania – Rocket League
Consisting of three regional events leading into an international major every year, the RLCS Oceania has sixteen teams participate in a Swiss competition format with the top eight proceeding to the regional event’s playoffs. Each regional event has a $30,000 prize pool and if an Aussie team accumulates enough points throughout the year, they have the potential to qualify for the World Championship or World Championship Wildcard.
Oceania Tour – VALORANT
Made up of two stages and an OCE Championship each year, both stages have eight teams competing within a group to place for the playoffs. If a team wins a stage or the OCE Championship, they get the chance to play at the APAC Challengers and an attempt to qualify for the VALORANT Masters. The total prize pool for the Oceania Tour is $80,000, with $25,000 for each stage and the remaining $30,000 for the OCE Championship.
CDC Asia Pacific 2022 Cup – Call of Duty
Australian teams compete in the weekly Call of Duty Challengers Asia Pacific Cup series. There is a prize pool of $1,500 each week ($21,000 in total) and teams accumulate a certain number of points based on their resulting position that week. At the conclusion of the series the four highest scoring teams around the world enter the finals alongside the four teams that won their respective last chance qualifiers (NA, EU, LA, AP). At the CDC World Finals teams compete for a grand $250,000 prize pool.
E-League Australia – FIFA
Organised by the Football Federation Australia, each professional A-League team has two esports players compete in the E-League Australia tournament. After a five-game group stage, the top two players in each group progress to the playoffs where teams compete for a prize pool of $10,000.
FIFAe Club World Cup – FIFA
After qualifying through regional tournaments and in-game seasons, twenty four teams compete in a group stage where the top sixteen progress to a single elimination knockout. Organised by EA and FIFA this tournament boasts an impressive $300,000 prize pool.
PUBG Continental Series – PUBG
Aussie PUBG teams battle it out in the Oceanic Qualifier. This competition pits sixteen teams against each other for a $10,000 prize pool with the top two places qualifying for the Asia Pacific Series. From here another sixteen teams from both Southeast Asia and Oceania play for a much larger prize pool of $250,000 as well as PGC points. These points determine which teams go on to play at the PUBG Global Championship.
Fortnite Champion Series – Fortnite
Occurring purely online, teams from each corner of the globe progress through three rounds to determine who will represent their home region in the champion series. Once decided teams play in a group stage and the greatest among them enter the grand final. In 2022 there was a massive $1,419,000 split amongst each region’s champions.
CouchWarriors – FGC
CouchWarriors is a non-for-profit organisation that runs Australia’s largest fighting game esports tournaments. From Tekken to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, CouchWarriors provides various opportunities for casual gamers and professional esports players to engage in Australian competitions.
Australia’s Greatest Esports Players
Image Credit: ESL | Stephanie Lindgren
Anathan “ana” Pham
One of the top three Dota 2 players of all time as well as the greatest Australian esports player ever, Anathan “ana/Humblegod” Pham has made history in the Dota 2 world scene. Dropping out of high school and making the move from Melbourne to Shanghai in 2015, Ana committed to his dream of being a professional Dota 2 player. After a few months of competing against highly rated Chinese players Ana was signed by Invictus Gaming in 2016. Following a rocky start to his career, Ana left his former team and joined a newly rebuilt OG outfit and would go on to make history.
After winning The Boston Major in 2016 as part of his first year with OG, Ana had already cemented himself in the history books by becoming the first ever Australian to win a Valve-sponsored event. To back up his recent success Anathan “ana” Pham won a second major at Kiev in 2017. Unfortunately, after an unsuccessful run at The International 2017 ana went on a hiatus playing with Echo International for two months and then landed right back in the OG camp. After qualifying for The International 2018 ana’s OG was ranked lowest out of the competing eighteen teams. Proving the Dota 2 world wrong and showcasing his insane Ember Spirit plays ana and OG took home Dota 2’s premier title.
After deciding to sit back and move to the inactive squad Anathan “ana” Pham returned to OG, qualified for The International 2019, went in as the heavy favourites and became the first team in Dota 2 history to win back-to-back Internationals. Almost on cue, Ana again decided to take a step back and officially retire in 2021.
However, with two majors, two Internationals and a predicted $6 million in tournament winnings, Anathan “ana” Pham has decided to step back into the Dota 2 competitive scene by signing with T1 in August 2022.
Justin “jks” Savage
This Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fan favourite became the first ever Australian to win a S-Tier Tournament with FaZe Clan at IEM Katowice 2022. Battling it out in the Aussie CSGO scene since 2010, jks was picked up by the newly established Renegades in 2015. With consistent performances and accumulating four Asia Minor Championships, jks’ roster was acquired by American Team 100 Thieves in 2019. Unfortunately, due to complications with travel and COVID-19 the team was disbanded which resulted in jks signing a contract with Complexity Gaming. Showcasing incredible talent but again lacking consistent performances jks was benched in 2021. Unbeknownst to him, jks would hit the ground running and play for FaZe Clan, one of the best teams in the world, at IEM Katowice 2022. Standing in for both Robin “Ropz” Cool in the group stage, and Håvard “Rain” Nygaard in the playoffs and grand final, Justin “jks” Savage helped FaZe Clan secure a top tier tournament and $400,000 in prize money for the renowned esports org.
From his elite performance on the world stage jks has now landed himself in a new G2 Esports lineup alongside the world’s best rifler Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and the awping prodigy Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov. Having earned over $350,000 in competition winnings and a world class tournament to his name, we can only imagine what Justin “jks” Savage will do next!
James “TGLTN” Giezen
Heralding from Melbourne, James “TGLTN” Giezen is rated as one of, if not the, best PUBG player of all time. Starting with a small stint at Chiefs in 2018 TGLTN then travelled to the USA where he first played with Elevate and then found his home at Soniqs. Since joining TGLTN has won 6 PUBG Continental Series across both North America and the Americas as well as the coveted PUBG Global Invitational.S 2021. From his time playing competitive PUBG, James “TGLTN” Giezen has amassed a comfortable $450,000 in winnings so far and created a substantial Twitch and YouTube following.
Damien “kpii” Chok
Another renowned Aussie in the Dota 2 landscape, Damien “kpii” Chok has found significant success abroad. Getting an early start in the Australian scene with Can’t Say Wips, kpii has since played for the South Korean team MVP Phoenix, former Chinese powerhouse Newbee, and multiple Filipino clubs where he currently represents Talon Esports. Throughout his career, Damien “kpii” Chok has won multiple Tier 1 tournaments including the MDL Chengdu Major in 2019. Additionally, kpii has competed in three Internationals achieving a runner up result in 2017. With a healthy $1.8 million in winnings, kpii also held the record for being the highest ranked Australian player from 2015 to 2017 until Anathan “ana” Pham took off and won the International the following year.
Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami
Transitioning from one MOBA another, Australia’s Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami is currently battling it out in the North American League of Legends scene. Originating from Australian sides Intuition and MAMMOTH, Fudge found himself in the Cloud9 Academy team. By performing at a high standard and taking out the 2020 LCS Academy League in both the Spring and Summer Seasons, Fudge was elevated to Cloud9’s premier League of Legends Team. Since then, Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami has netted a top tier competition win at the LCS Spring 2021 and has consequently played at the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship.
Daniel “Torsos” Parsons
The king of Australian Rocket League, Daniel “Torsos” Parsons has been instrumental in showcasing oceanic talent to the esports world. Having played for Chiefs, Renegades, Ground Zero and now PWR, Torsos has represented a majority of Australia’s premier esports organisations. Having won an incredible twenty seven A-Tier competitions, and a top tier RLCS Season X – Oceanic Championship, not mention numerous attempts at the famed RLCS world title, Daniel “Torsos” Parsons has accumulated over $160,000 in tournament winnings.
Australia’s Premier Esports Organisations
Image Credit: ESL | Joao Ferreira
Chiefs
Arguably the most consistent Australian esports organisation since 2014, Chiefs Esports claims the title of being Oceania’s highest rated League of Legends outfit. Four-time Oceanic Pro League Champions and recently crowned LCO’s 2022 Split 2 winner, the Chiefs LoL team has been catapulted into 2022’s World Championship Play-In series after an undefeated 21-0 run during the regular season.
Chiefs also have the honour of creating the greatest Rainbow Six: Siege dynasty in Australian history. With 4 OCN Championships, an APAC Playoff Championship, and multiple international major attendances the chiefs climbed to the pinnacle of Rainbow Six: Siege competition. Unfortunately, due to poor regional support and countless technical issues from tournament organisers this unstoppable roster was disbanded in August of 2022.
Additionally, with a total of two ANZ titles in less than a year, Halo Infinite is yet another game Chiefs Esports has dominated in. Off the back of their recent win at DreamHack Melbourne, Chiefs are off to America to play in the HCS Orlando and are eying up the Halo World Championship later this year.
Renegades
Although an American based organisation, Renegades have had a profound impact on the Australian esports scene. To start, Renegades have had a successful stint in the world Counter-Strike: Global Offensive leagues. Initially purchasing Australian team Vox Eminor, Renegades CS:GO roster grew to house Australia’s greatest players such as Justin “jks” Savage, Aaron “AZR” Ward, and Chris “Dexter” Nong. Alongside these Aussie stars Renegades have also had the likes of Keith “NAF” Markovic and Nemanja “nexa” Isaković on the roster. With this fire power renegades secured five A-Tier tournament wins and competed fiercely at countless others. The team was sold to 100 Thieves in 2019, and after rebuilding sold again to ORDER in 2022.
Renegades have also been one of Australia’s top competitors in Rocket League, with notable players including Daniel “Torsos” Parsons, Cameron “CJCJ” Johns and Cameron “Kamii” Ingram. Initially forming a team in 2017, the roster has won eleven A-Tier Oceanic tournaments and netted a total of $271,840 in winnings. After an impressive effort to enter the RLCS 2021-22 World Championship and being knocked out early the team is now focusing on rebuilding.
Additionally, Renegades also have an existing Apex Legends team and have previously had rosters for League of Legends, Call of Duty, Halo, and Super Smash Bros.
Order
Having entered voluntary administration in August of 2022 this organisation’s future is uncertain to say the least. Established in 2017 this club rose to the heights of Australian esports in a short five-year period. Winning their first LCO title in early 2022 in combination with a competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, Order was one of Australia’s most successful esports organisations of over the past few years. The club also had competitive rosters in Rainbow Six: Siege, FIFA, Street Fighter V, and VALORANT. Unfortunately, each esports outfit has since been disbanded and the CS:GO roster has moved on to form a new iteration of Grayhound Gaming.
Dire Wolves
Originally founded in 2014 with a singular team in League of Legends, Dire Wolves have expanded to house a roster in Overwatch, VALORANT, FIFA, Rocket League and Apex Legends. Its League of Legends team has seen the greatest success with four Oceanic Pro League titles and an S-Tier tournament win at Rift Rivals 2018: SEA vs LJL vs OPL. The next highest achieving team is their FIFA roster which is ranked 9th in the world FIFAe club rankings. Additionally Dire Wolves have also won an A-Tier Oceania Regional event in Rocket League.
Mindfreak
The leading Call of Duty organisation in Australia, Mindfreak was established in 2010 with the aim to become a powerhouse in oceanic gaming. With thirteen regional titles and two international tournaments wins, Mindfreak have produced incredible results allowing them to claim the title of the highest achieving team in Asia-Pacific history. Mindfreak also have a reasonably successful Overwatch squad, with two Australian season wins to their name. Additionally, the organisation also has an all-female CS:GO team which has competed both domestically and internationally.
Pentanet.GG
Established in late 2019, Pentanet.GG have since made ripples across the Australian League of Legends world. Winning their only LCO title in 2021 the team flew to their first ever Mid-Season Invitational and made history. This squad become the first and only team from Oceania to make it out of groups at an international tournament. Since then, Pentanet.GG have either finished runners up or third in their following LCO playoffs and are eagerly awaiting their next opportunity to pounce on the world stage.
Image Credit: ESL | Joao Ferreira
There you have it! Australia’s premier esports competitions, greatest players, and top teams. The Australian scene accounts for just a small drop in the international esports ocean. As the industry continues to grow an evolve, and as gaming is introduced into the curriculum, more players and professionals will get involved and do their part to put Australia on the map in this global, multi-billion dollar gaming industry.