FlyQuest
FlyQuest is a professional esports organization based in the United States that was founded on January 6, 2017. It is owned by the Viola family, owners of the Florida Panthers. FlyQuest was originally founded after the acquisition of the League of Legends roster of Cloud9 Challenger, which was the sister team of the Cloud9 organization. Cloud9 Challenger qualified for the North American League Championship Series in August 2016, alongside the main Cloud9 roster. LCS rules forbid an organization from owning multiple teams in the same league, so the team was sold to Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens and Fortress Investment Group and rebranded to FlyQuest, with the team roster unchanged. Tricia Sugita was appointed as CEO in 2020, while Ryan Edens would move to a president position. She left the team on 13 June 2022, later becoming the Chief Marketing Officer for Cloud9. Micheal Choi was appointed as the new CEO. In September 2022, the Viola family, owners of the Florida Panthers, acquired Flyquest. In December 2022, Brian Anderson was appointed as the new CEO. Australian gamer Chris “Papasmithy” Smith serves as president.
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| Short name | FLY |
|---|---|
| Divisions | League of Legends Super Smash Bros. Melee Counter-Strike 2 Valorant |
| Founded | January 6, 2017 |
| Based in | Los Angeles, California |
| Location | United States |
| Owner | Viola Family |
| President | Chris Smith |
| CEO | Brian Anderson |
| Manager | Jeffrey Hoang |
| General manager | Nicholas Phan |
| Website | www.flyquest.gg  |
FlyQuest is a professional esports organization based in the United States that was founded on January 6, 2017. It is owned by the Viola family, owners of the Florida Panthers.[1]
FlyQuest was originally founded after the acquisition of the League of Legends roster of Cloud9 Challenger, which was the sister team of the Cloud9 organization. Cloud9 Challenger qualified for the North American League Championship Series in August 2016, alongside the main Cloud9 roster. LCS rules forbid an organization from owning multiple teams in the same league, so the team was sold to Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens and Fortress Investment Group[2][3][4] and rebranded to FlyQuest, with the team roster unchanged.[5]
Tricia Sugita was appointed as CEO in 2020, while Ryan Edens would move to a president position.[6] She left the team on 13 June 2022, later becoming the Chief Marketing Officer for Cloud9.[7][8] Micheal Choi was appointed as the new CEO.[9] In September 2022, the Viola family, owners of the Florida Panthers, acquired Flyquest. In December 2022, Brian Anderson was appointed as the new CEO. Australian gamer Chris “Papasmithy” Smith serves as president. [10]
League of Legends
[edit]Roster
[edit]| FlyQuest League of Legends roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Erlend "Nukeduck" Holm
Noh "Arrow" Dong-Hyeon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: September 9, 2025. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tournament results
[edit]| Placement | Event | Final result (W–L) |
|---|---|---|
| 5th | 2017 NA LCS Spring Split | 9–9 |
| 4th | 2017 NA LCS Spring Playoffs | 2–3 (against Phoenix1) |
| 7th | 2017 NA LCS Summer Split | 6–12 |
| 3rd | 2017 NA LCS Regional Qualifiers | 1–3 (against Counter Logic Gaming) |
| 8th | 2018 NA LCS Spring Split | 6–12 |
| 6th | 2018 NA LCS Summer Split | 10–8 |
| 5th–6th | 2018 NA LCS Summer Playoffs | 0–3 (against 100 Thieves) |
| 4th | 2019 LCS Spring Split | 9–9 |
| 3rd–4th | 2019 LCS Spring Playoffs | 0–3 (against Team Liquid) |
| 9th | 2019 LCS Summer Split | 5–13 |
| 4th | 2020 LCS Spring Split | 10–8 |
| 2nd | 2020 LCS Spring Playoffs | 0–3 (against Cloud9) |
| 3rd | 2020 LCS Summer Split | 12–6 |
| 2nd | 2020 LCS Summer Playoffs | 2–3 (against Team SoloMid) |
| 9-12th | 2020 World Championship | 3–3 |
| 5-8th | 2021 LCS Lock-In | 0–2 (against Team Liquid) |
| 8th | 2021 LCS Spring Split | 6–12 |
| 9th | 2021 LCS Summer Split | 14–31 |
| 5-8th | 2022 LCS Lock-In | 0–2 (against Team Liquid) |
| 6th | 2022 LCS Spring Split | 9–9 |
| 5-6th | 2022 LCS Spring Split Playoffs | 1–3 (against Evil Geniuses) |
| 6th | 2022 LCS Summer Split | 9–9 |
| 7-8th | 2022 LCS Summer Split Playoffs | 2–3 (against TSM) |
| 2nd | 2023 LCS Spring Split | 14–4 |
| 3rd | 2023 LCS Spring Split Playoffs | 0–3 (against Cloud9) |
| 9th | 2023 LCS Summer Split | 6–12 |
| 1st | 2024 LCS Spring Split | 10–4 |
| 2nd | 2024 LCS Spring Split Playoffs | 1–3 (against Team Liquid) |
| 9-10th | 2024 Mid-Season Invitational | 1–2 |
| 3rd | 2024 LCS Summer Split | 5–2 |
| 1st | 2024 LCS Summer Split Playoffs | 3–1 (against Team Liquid) |
| 5-8th | 2024 World Championship | 2–3 (against Gen.G) |
| N/A | 2025 LTA North Split 1 | 2–1 |
| 3rd-4th | 2025 LTA Split 1 Playoffs | 1–2 (against 100 Thieves) |
| 2nd | 2025 LTA North Split 2 | 6–1 |
| 1st | 2025 LTA Split 2 Playoffs | 3–1 (against Cloud9) |
| 5-6th | 2025 Mid-Season Invitational | 2–3 (against Bilibili Gaming) |
Super Smash Bros. Melee
[edit]History
[edit]Super Smash Bros. Melee player John "KoDoRiN" Ko was signed by FlyQuest on December 8, 2021.[11] Jake "Jmook" DiRado became the organization's second Melee player on June 10, 2022.[12]
Current roster
[edit]| FlyQuest Super Smash Bros. Melee roster | ||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||
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Legend:
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Rocket League
[edit]FlyQuest made its first foray into Rocket League in September 2017, acquiring the eQuinox roster.[13] This roster played in RLCS Season 4, finishing sixth in the regular season and missing out on a LAN spot after a 4–0 loss to Ghost Gaming in the regional playoffs. In the offseason between Seasons 4 and 5, FlyQuest dropped their first roster and picked up the Ambition Esports roster.[14] This team finished first in RLRS league play for Season 5, earning them a spot in the promotional playoffs. They went on to defeat Out of Style and Counter Logic Gaming in the playoffs, earning them a spot in the RLCS for Season 6. FlyQuest finished fifth in league play, but again missed out on a LAN spot after losing to NRG in the regional playoffs. In December 2018, FlyQuest announced that they would be dropping their Rocket League roster, with AyyJayy and Wonder being transferred to Rogue and Pluto staying with the organization as a content creator.[15]
Tournament results
[edit]- Qualified for RLCS Season 4 league play by defeating Renegades 3–2 during the RLCS Season 4 North America Play-In
- Qualified for RLCS Season 6 league play by defeating Counter Logic Gaming 4–2 during the RLCS Season 5 Promotional Tournament
Counter-Strike 2
[edit]On March 28, 2024, FlyQuest announced the signing of the Australian previous Grayhound Gaming roster, consisting of Alistair "aliStair" Johnston, Christopher "dexter" Nong, Joshua "INS" Potter, Jay "Liazz" Tregillgas, and Declan "Vexite" Portelli.[16]
Roster
[edit]| FlyQuest Counter-Strike 2 roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Aaron "AZR" Ward | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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| FlyQuest RED Counter-Strike 2 roster | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||
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Luca "Munstur" Ioanițiu
Alan "Shakezullah" Hardeman | ||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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References
[edit]- ^ Fragen, Jordan (September 27, 2022). "FlyQuest acquired by owners of NHL's Florida Panthers". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
- ^ Hadar, Roey (January 9, 2017). "FlyQuest will be newest NA LCS team ... and latest with NBA money - The Rift Herald". Riftherald.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ^ Taylor Cocke (January 9, 2017). "League of Legends team FlyQuest officially announced by Milwaukee Bucks owner". Esports.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Co-owner Wes Edens Ventures Into Esports". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- ^ Volk, Pete (August 6, 2016). "Cloud9 Challenger clinches LCS spot, which means an LCS spot is for sale - The Rift Herald". Riftherald.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ^ Hitt, Kevin (January 22, 2020). "FlyQuest Promotes Tricia Sugita to CEO, Opens New Facility, and Sets New Initiatives". Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ Robertson, Scott (June 13, 2022). "FlyQuest and CEO Tricia Sugita part ways after 4 years". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ Frascarelli, Victor (June 16, 2022). "Tricia Sugita announced as new Cloud9 CMO". Esports Insider. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ Šimić, Ivan (June 13, 2022). "FlyQuest appoints Michael Choi as CEO, Tricia Sugita departs organisation". Esports Insider. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
- ^ "Flyquest Announces Brian Anderson as CEO". FlyQuest. December 8, 2022. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ "KoDoRiN joins FlyQuest". FlyQuest. December 8, 2021. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
- ^ Tate, Dylan (June 10, 2022). "FlyQuest signs Jmook to expand their Smash Melee roster". Upcomer. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "FLYQUEST ANNOUNCES EXPANSION WITH SIGNING OF ROCKET LEAGUE ROSTER". Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ "NEW ROCKET LEAGUE ROSTER HAS FLYQUEST POISED FOR SUCCESS". Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ "FlyQuest on Twitter". Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ "FlyQuest on X: We're proud to announce @FlyQuestCS, our new Counter-Strike team!". X (Twitter). March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
