Wings Gaming

Wings Gaming
Short nameWings
DivisionsDota 2
FoundedAugust 2014
FoldedApril 2017
Based inChongqing
LocationChina

Wings Gaming was a Chinese Dota 2 esports team based in Chongqing. They were best known for winning over US$9 million at The International 2016 (TI6), which was one of the most lucrative esports tournaments in history.[1][2] Wings were founded in the aftermath of post-The International 2014 roster shuffles in China, with the TI6 winning roster being put together in August 2015.[3]

Wings were nominated in the best non-Olympic athlete category of the 2016 Chinese Top 10 Laureus Sport Awards, becoming the first esports team to be nominated.[4] They were also nominated as esports team of the year at The Game Awards 2016.[5] Just before the team played at the Kiev Major tournament in April 2017, all five of the playing members left the team, playing under the banner of Team Random at the event.[6][7] Team Random disbanded following a bottom placed finish at the event, with most of the members taking a break from the professional scene.[8][9] The team briefly reunited for an exhibition match at the Chongqing Major in 2019.[10]

  1. ^ Erzberger, Tyler (14 August 2016). "Teenage captain leads esports team to $9.1 million prize". ESPN. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. ^ Swatman, Rachel. "Chinese Dota 2 gaming team wins largest prize for an eSports competition ever". guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  3. ^ Gies, Arthur (13 August 2016). "Here are the winners of Valve's $20+ million 2016 International Dota 2 Championships". Polygon. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  4. ^ Esanu, Andreea. "Wings Gaming nominated in the 2016 China top 10 Laureus Sport Awards". Gosu Gamers. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  5. ^ Sarkar, Samit (November 16, 2016). "Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2016". Polygon. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "Report: Wings Gaming roster leaves organization". TSN. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  7. ^ Van Allen, Eric (21 April 2017). "Who Are These 'New' Dota Teams At The Kiev Major?". Kotaku. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  8. ^ Van Allen, Eric (May 2017). "Report: Reigning Champs Of Dota's International 6 Retire". Kotaku. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  9. ^ Rose, Victoria (28 July 2017). "What happened to TI6 champions Wings Gaming?". The Flying Courier. Polygon. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  10. ^ Michael, Cale (27 January 2019). "Wings Gaming to reunite for a showmatch against Team Liquid". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 27, 2019.