FaZe Studio
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, an entertainment studio. The new studio will focus on creating feature films and scripted television series.
OpTic Gaming rivalry
FaZe Clan and OpTic Gaming were the same in many ways, they both made video content about Call of Duty and provided their players with a platform to promote themselves. FaZe entered Call of Duty esports in the Black Ops II era. They didn't burst onto the scene, as they failed to win a series outside of the open bracket at the MLG Winter Championship 2013. At the MLG Spring Championship 2013 event, the team would face off against OpTic, for the first time at a major tournament. OpTic would get the best of FaZe, as MLG Spring served as the first in a long line of defeats to their rivals. But after another roster change, FaZe were ready to take on a new OpTic roster at UMG Philadelphia 2014 in a gripping five-game set. It was one of FaZe's first major upsets, and it was against their rival, and even though they didn't win the event, it set the pace for the team going forward. It was only later in 2014 that they would find momentum. They dropped Anthony "NAMELESS" Wheeler and picked up Jordan "ProoFy" Cannon, and with his addition, they became a major contender and made it further at the Call of Duty Championship 2014: US Regional Final than OpTic. But Call of Duty Championship 2014 was a different story, OpTic bested them and finished in 3rd, while FaZe finished in 6th. But FaZe rebounded and chained some strong finishes together.
After Call of Duty Championship 2014, FaZe brought home a few significant titles, UMG Nashville 2014 and the MLG CoD League Season 1. But their team was constantly ravaged by roster changes, and it was only as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare came out, that they would finally build a stable roster. Doug "Censor" Martin and Bryan "Apathy" Zhelyazkov were joined by Austin "SlasheR" Liddicoat and Patrick "ACHES" Price. ACHES had developed a reputation as OpTic's kryptonite. The team attended Advanced Warfare's first event, MLG Columbus Open 2014, in pursuit of a trophy. After making their way to the winner's bracket, ACHES severely cut his hand, but he didn't stop competing. After making their way to the final, OpTic was waiting for them and FaZe had finally defeated OpTic on CoD's biggest stage.
It was during the 2015 season that the rivalry spilled over. OpTic would flawless throughout most of the year while FaZe struggled. But the intensity of the rivalry fueled FaZe amidst one of the most dominant years of OpTic, and FaZe won UMG Dallas 2015 against OpTic. FaZe took another title from OpTic at the Gfinity Summer Championship. During that time, FaZe and OpTic were considered the two best teams for the first time ever. FaZe would get bested at the MLG World Finals 2015, marking a disappointing end to what many argue was their most defining year. Next up for FaZe was the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops III and the announcement of the Call of Duty World League Championship 2016. Since that legendary FaZe OpTic era of 2015, FaZe hasn't been able to get back to the top of the game, but FaZe will always be at the heart of the Call of Duty scene.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
While FaZe Clan was rising to prominence in Call of Duty, the organization seized the opportunity to branch out to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. They acquired the G2 Esports roster for reported $700,000 on January 20, 2016. It was at their first event at DreamHack Open Leipzig 2016 where they showed that they could play against some of the world's best, even though they lost in the group stage. 2016 was a growing year for their Counter-Strike roster. They managed to take a 9th-12th finish at the years first Major, MLG Major Championship: Columbus 2016, another 9th-12th finish at ESL One: Cologne 2016, the years second Major, and a 5th-6th finish at DreamHack Open Bucharest 2016.
In the lead up to ELEAGUE Season 2, FaZe shook up their roster by signing former Astralis in-game leader, Finn "karrigan" Andersen ahead of the 2017 season. With karrigan on board, they looked strong at 2017's inaugural Major, ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017. They were bested by SK Gaming but showed that they can compete against the highest level. Considered to be one of the best players in the world, Nikola "NiKo" Kovač joined FaZe in a blockbuster signing. FaZe won StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3.
But 2017's second Major, PGL Major Kraków 2017, was a different story. After an 0-3 group stage exit, FaZe knew changes were necessary. After Kraków, they acquired both Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács and Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer Gustafsson to assemble the biggest superteam in CS:GO history. After winning ESL One: New York 2017, they won ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2017, placed second at Intel Extreme Masters Season XII - Oakland, second at the ESL Pro League Season 6: Finals and won Esports Championship Series Season 4 - Finals. To prove that they were the best, they had to win a Major and their first shot to do that was at ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018. FaZe would dominate their way to the finals and would face Cloud9. After an intense three map final, Cloud9 came out on top.
Battle royale games
With the onset of the battle royale boom, the popularity of Twitch and the personality-driven content that FaZe makes, the brand thrived. They had always toed the line of gaming and reality television, but now, those two things had become more of the same.
FaZe took their first step into PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS during the game's most popular time on November 10, 2017. They invested in an esports team but also sponsored streamers. It's this intersection of competitive gaming and Twitch, that made FaZe the perfect organization for the battle royale genre. They already knew how to turn competitive gaming into content and that what battle royale games were built around.
When it became clear that Fortnite Battle Royale was the biggest game in the world, FaZe was quick to jump on board. They signed a team which would compete but would mainly focus on streaming. FaZe has cemented itself as the go-to organization for competitive gaming and content. Turner "Tfue" Tenney became synonymous with the FaZe Fortnite brand. He is regarded by many as the world best Fortnite competitive player, and this was further reinforced by winning Fall Skirmish Series NA - Week 6 - TwitchCon. In second place was yet another member of FaZe, Nate Hill.
Player's Unknown Battlegrounds
The announcement of FaZe buying Gorilla Core's PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) team was made on November 11, 2017. The team had been brought together under Gorilla Core the previous year. Gorilla's CEO Bruno Lema Santos was also acquired by FaZe to run eeports operations for the larger organization in the purchase.
FIFA
On January 24, 2018, FaZe Clan made their way into FIFA after signing former Team Dignitas and Hashtag United F.C. player Tass. His first tournament under the organization was the FIFA eWorld Cup in Barcelona, from January 26, 2018.
Overwatch
FaZe Clan acquired an Overwatch roster on June 23, 2016. After one year acquiring the team, the organization disbanded it. The last remaining active member, FCTFCTN, left the roster on February 16, 2018, marking the end of the FaZe Overwatch roster.
Rainbow six seige
The announcement FaZe Clan expanding into Rainbow Six Siege was made on January 1, 2018. The roster has participated in Six Invitationals in Montreal from February 13, 2018 to February 18, 2018.
Fortnite
On March 3, 2018, FaZe announced the roster of their Fortnite Battle Royale team.
The FaZe Fortnite professional players continue to achieve astonishing records in the Fortnite community. On June 8 of 2018, during the weekly Friday Fortnite tournament hosted by KEEMSTAR and UMG, Tfue and Cloak, with ONE_shot_GURL and Nick Eh 30, tied the PC Kill Record for Squads, with a combined of 53 kills.
Epic has released a statement of allotting 100 million USD to future tournaments and FaZe has been sure to stay on the aggression with their competitive team.
Controversy
FaZe Clan Sued
On May 20, 2019, FaZe Clan member Tfue sued FaZe Clan for allegedly limiting his ability to pursue his career. This is a violation of the California Law, a state FaZe house takes in.
Turner says he's missing out on opportunities because of FaZe Clan's illegal activity in connection with a contract he signed in April 2018, keeping only 20% of the revenue from any branded videos that are published on Twitch, YouTube or social media alongside half of his revenue from touring and appearances. Turner also says FaZe Clan pressured him to live in one of its homes in the Hollywood Hills with other young YouTubers, where he says he was given alcohol before legal age (21 years old) and encouraged to illegally gamble.
Banks' Response
Richard "Banks" Bengston made a response to the allegations on Twitter, stating that the allegations were made up and lies.[1] Fans replied saying Banks is lying. FaZe Clan on Twitter made a response stating that they collected no money from the tournaments he competed, Twitch/YouTube revenue, and from other social media. FaZe claimed they only collected $60,000 (20%) from partnerships and with Turner collecting millions during the time in FaZe clan.
Banks then made a response on YouTube stating that Turner was the one pressuring people into doing things. As soon as Tfue went to Los Angeles to meet Banks and other YouTubers, Turner immediately went to the Hollywood Reservoir and did stunts as usual. He strongly and successfully attempted to make others do it.
Banks then mentions a deleted video Turner uploaded, where a party took place at Turner's current girlfriends' house before turning 21 years old. A BB gun was shot through someone's cheek as another stunt, and drinking was involved.
Tfue's Response
On May 22, 2019, Turner made a brief two-minute video quickly addressing the allegations of being pressured to illegally gamble, drinking, and performing dangerous stunts. Tenny explains that he did not want that in the lawsuit and will have his lawyer disclose it. The rest of the video revolved around Turner explaining his feelings on his contract ever since joining FaZe Clan. Turner urges FaZe to release his contract to the public so his fans can see the deal Turner was signed into. This started a trend #ReleaseTheContract. Banks said he will release the contract as soon as possible for the public to see. Tfue has since left FaZe.
Contract Leaked
On May 23, 2019, the contract had been leaked by 'The Blast News'. The contract states that Tfue only gets 80% of brand deals, 50% of merchandise, 50% brand deals, 50% appearance fees, and 20% Prize Pools, which sums up only having 50% of what he earns towards FaZe Clan. KEEMSTAR of DramaAlert confirmed on Twitter that it was real.[2][3]
Lying about a Player's age
Since Turner "Tfue" Tenney filed a lawsuit against FaZe Clan, one of FaZe Clan's member, Patrick "H1ghSky1", was accused of being underage (less than 13 years old). Until it was found out that H1ghSky1 was signed to FaZe Clan at 11 years old (now 12 at the time of the controversy), the major backlash was sent to FaZe Clan due to pressuring Patrick to lie about his age. FaZe was breaking the law under Labor Code 1700.36 and could get FaZe and Patrick's parents in trouble.
FaZe Dubs
On February 29, 2020, professional Fortnite player Daniel "Dubs" Walsh, said a racial slur during a livestream. FaZe indefinitely suspended Walsh from representing them while undergoing sensitivity training.
