FunPlus Phoenix is a Chinese esports organization owned by FunPlus.
History[]
2017 Season[]
On 20 December 2017, FunPlus' esports division announced the creation of FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) and its acquisition of a spot in the League of Legends Pro League (LPL). FPX's inaugural roster consisted of top laner Kim "GimGoon" Han-saem, jungler Hu "Pepper" Zhi-Wei, mid laner Feng "bing" Jin-Wei, bot laner Lin "Lwx" Wei-Xiang, and support Liu "Crisp" Qing-Song. The team's first tournament was the Demacia Championship 2017, which they placed 9th–15th after losing to Team WE in the third and final round of Group E.
2018 Season[]
For the 2018 LPL Spring regular season, FPX was placed in the league's western conference. Despite adding veteran mid laner Yu "Cool" Jia-Jun, FPX finished 5th in their conference with a 9–10 record and did not qualify for playoffs. Chen "Alex" Yu-Ming replaced Pepper as the team's primary jungler for the 2018 LPL Summer regular season. FPX finished 4th in their conference with an 8–11 record, qualifying for playoffs as one of the bottom seeds. They were promptly defeated by JD Gaming in the first round.
2019 Season[]
In preparation for the 2019 LPL Spring regular season, FPX revamped their roster, adding jungler Gao "Tian" Tian-Liang and veteran mid laner Kim "Doinb" Tae-sang. The team massively improved, placing 1st in the regular season with a 13–2 record and getting an automatic bye to the semifinals. However in an upset result, FPX lost 2–3 to JD Gaming in the semifinals, and advanced to the third place decider match rather than the finals. FPX defeated Topsports Gaming 3–1 in the third place decider match.
Despite the disappointing end to the spring split, FPX made no roster changes and picked up right where they had left off in the 2019 LPL Summer regular season, dropping only a single series to Invictus Gaming, and losing only four games throughout the entire split en route to a first place finish. The team also represented China at Rift Rivals 2019, but although they went 1-1 in the group stage and won both of their knockout stage games, Korea emerged victorious over China in the finals by a 3-1 score.
Their regular season record would again give FPX a bye into the semifinals of the LPL 2019 Summer Playoffs, where they would exorcise the previous split's demons with a 3-1 victory over Bilibili Gaming. This sent them to the finals against Chinese juggernaut Royal Never Give Up, where they would again prevail 3-1, the first LPL championship for both the organization and all five players.
FPX's victory gave them China's #1 seed for the 2019 Season World Championship, where they were drawn into Group B alongside Europe's Splyce, the LMS's J Team and Vietnam's GAM Esports. FPX was considered a lock to top the group and a contender for the Worlds title itself, with most analysis being focused on which team would get second. However, FPX looked shaky in the group stage, dropping a game to both Splyce and J Team and needing to win a tiebreaker over the European representative to secure the first seed. In the knockout stage, they regained their form, handily defeating Fnatic 3-1, then defeating defending World Champions Invictus Gaming in a chaotic but ultimately decisive 3-1 series. This sent them to the finals against Europe's number one seed G2 Esports, who were looking to add a worlds title to their trophy case, having won both of their domestic splits and MSI 2019. Although most analysts predicted a close, G2-favored series, FPX proved their true dominance by sweeping them in a convincing style, giving China their second straight World Championship. They were also the first organization since Taipei Assassins in Season 2 to win a World Championship in their first ever Worlds appearance, and the first since SKT in Season 3 to win Worlds with a roster of players all making their first Worlds appearance.
Timeline[]
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
December 20, FunPlus Phoenix is formed. BSYY (Head Coach) joins.[1]
June 27, Alex's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 17 November 2020. Xinyi's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2019. Cool's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 20 November 2018.[12]
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August 6, MingZhe (Manager to Head Coach) changes position.
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September 20, Xiao7 is added to the GCD as substitute.[13] Mingjing, y, april, and ppgod join as trainees. Xiao7's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 16 November 2020. Cepted's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2019.[14]
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November 14, Lwx's contract is extended through 2019.[15] lwx's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 18 November 2019.[16]
December 21, Disappear (Coach) rejoins. GimGoon's contract is extended. Alex becomes inactive. Hachani (Coach) leaves. Cepted leaves for academy roster.[25][26]Disappear renames to Despa1r. Gimgoon's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2019. Tian's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 16 November 2021. Doinb's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 16 November 2020.[27]
October 8, Lwx and Crisp's contracts are extended until 16 November 2021.[30] Lwx and Crisp's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 16 November 2021.[31]
January 6, GimGoon and xiao7's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 17 November 2020. Mingjing and Doinb's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 16 November 2021. April's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 15 November 2021. Crisp's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 22 November 2022.[38]
January 8, Sean (Analyst) and Denny (Leader) join.River (Assistant Coach) joins from academy roster.Despa1r (Coach) and JiGwang (Leader) leave for academy roster.[51]
January 5, clid joins.[75][76]Green (Manager) joins.Despa1r (Assistant Coach) rejoins.REFRA1N (Coach), River (Assistant Coach), and Crystal (Manager) leave.[77]
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February 22, clid's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 22 November 2022. gori and Hang's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 21 November 2023.[78]
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March 2, jiang leaves for academy roster. Care and Lele join from academy roster. gori moves to substitute.[79]
June 6, Damon (Leader) joins. Lele rejoins as substitute from academy roster.Denny (Leader to Manager) changes position. Despa1r (Assistant Coach) and Green (Manager) leave.[83]
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June 15, Lele leaves for academy roster.[84] Xingye joins as substitute from academy roster.[85]
February 17, QiuQiu joins. Lele moves to substitute.[100] Xiaolaohu, fearness, and Lele's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2024. H4cker and Lwx's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 21 November 2023. Care, haoye, and Xingye's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 18 November 2025. QiuQiu's contract is updated in the GCD, expiring on 30 April 2023.[101]
December 14, Sin (Head Coach), Mouse (Assistant Coach), and ikRyong (Analyst) join. Xiaolaohu, Care, Damon (Manager), and Denny (Manager) will remain with the team for 2024.[118][119]
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January 9, Xiaolaohu and Moyan's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 18 November 2025. milkyway, Deokdam, and Life's contracts are updated in the GCD, expiring on 19 November 2024.[120]