Team Liquid tackles esports data with AI

“Draft is probably one of the most impactful things we do as a coaching staff,” Hart says. “It’s setting up our team for success and making sure the other team is limiting their success. Any advantage we can get in that realm is hugely beneficial to us, so it’s a very natural candidate to start looking at for AI applications.”

Still on the ascent

Since its founding in 2000, Team Liquid has won more than $43 million in prize money and 120 major titles and counting across the 15 esports games in which it competes, including Dota 2 and League of Legends. In the past several decades, esports, or competitive video gaming, has quietly turned into a massive industry.

“The viewership of esports is massive; it will boggle most people,” says Steve Arhancet, co-CEO of Team Liquid. “The League of Legends World Championship in 2023 had as many people watching it as the Super Bowl. There are a lot of gamers and there’s a lot of people that watch other people play.”