FaZe Clan

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

FaZe Sniping made their debut on YouTube on May 30, 2010. Originally, the group was a Call of Duty clan founded by three players, Eric "CLipZ" Rivera, Jeff "House Cat" Emann (now known as "Timid") and Ben "Resistance" Christensen. The trio garnered a reputation for innovating trickshotting in the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Their YouTube content took off when Ted "Fakie" joined the clan. It was then that FaZe unveiled the most popular series on their channel, ILLCAMS. FaZe Clan's focus on trickshotting and a personality-driven approach to social media led to it becoming one of the first popular YouTube video game channels, compared to other Call of Duty channels that often focused on winning tournaments. In 2012, the channel had one million subscribers, and the clan began to branch out into esports competitions. Separate from the clan's YouTube content creators, teams under the FaZe name began competing in competitions such as the Call of Duty Championship and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championships. The original CEO, Thomas "Temperrr" Oliveira, had been a member of FaZe since he was 16 years old. Oliveira and COO Richard “Banks” Bengtson created the first FaZe shared home in 2014 in Plainview, New York, intended to facilitate lifestyle content alongside their gaming content. In 2015, former social media platform Hubrick, run by Norwegian entrepreneur Sebastian Geurts, invested in FaZe Clan. Hubrick recruited former record executive Lee Trink as an advisor. In January 2016, FaZe Clan acquired G2 Esports's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive international lineup, who competed as FaZe Clan in the 2016 MLG Major Championship: Columbus. The team won second place in ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018, losing to US-based Cloud9. In 2017, Bengtson moved to Los Angeles, starting a new shared home with YouTubers called the Clout House. FaZe Clan were the runner ups in ESL Pro League Season 6, second runner ups in ESL Pro League Season 7 and ESL One Cologne 2018, and were the champions of ELeague CS:GO Premier that same year, winning $500,000 of prize money. In 2018, Greg Selkoe, founder of streetwear web retailer Karmaloop, became the president of FaZe Clan, with Trink becoming the CEO. Later, FaZe Clan opened their series A funding round. Throughout 2019, musicians Ray J, DJ Paul, Offset, Swae Lee, Yo Gotti, Pitbull, and Disco Fries, basketball players Me

In Their Own Story

The arena lights hummed low over the LAN stage, casting long shadows across the monitors. Inside the headset, the voice was calm but urgent—karrigan calling a site execute that had worked a hundred times in scrims, yet this was different. The crowd noise faded into white noise as rain and NiKo moved forward, smoke grenades blooming like gray flowers on the catwalks. One pistol round away from history, the weight of the organization's brand rested on their triggers.

Reader's Guide

FaZe Clan is a professional esports organization founded in 2010. It has competed in Call of Duty and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, among other games. The organization underwent a public listing in 2022, was acquired by GameSquare in 2023, and spun off FaZe Media in 2024. FaZe Media shut down in December 2025 after an exodus of members.

Did You Know?

• FaZe Clan was originally founded as a Call of Duty trickshotting clan called FaZe Sniping.
• FaZe Clan became the first esports team to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on June 10, 2021.
• FaZe Clan won the ELeague CS:GO Premier in 2018, earning $500,000.
• FaZe Media was formed in May 2024 and shut down in December 2025.