Talon Esports

The Rise of PSG Talon in League of Legends

Talon Esports entered the League of Legends scene as a founding member of the Pacific Championship Series in December 2019. Its inaugural roster consisted of top laner Su Hanabi, jungler Kim River, mid laner Kim Candy, bot laner Wong Unified, and support Ling Kaiwing. The team quickly found success, finishing third in the 2020 PCS Spring regular season before winning three playoff series to reach the finals. There, they defeated Machi Esports to claim their first PCS title.

In June 2020, Talon announced a major partnership with French football club Paris Saint-Germain's esports arm, rebranding its League team to PSG Talon. This partnership defined the team's identity for the next several years. The 2020 season was a landmark year, as PSG Talon again finished third in the summer regular season and reached the finals, qualifying for the World Championship. For the summer split, mid laner Park Tank was brought in as a substitute and later promoted to the starting position after Candy's departure.

International Debut and Roster Challenges

PSG Talon's first World Championship appearance in 2020 was marked by significant roster disruption. Jungler River and mid laner Tank were unable to participate in the play-in stage due to delayed visas. They were replaced by Hsiao Kongyue and Chen Uniboy respectively. Bot laner Unified was also absent for the first half of the play-ins, replaced by Chen Dee. Despite starting with three emergency substitutes, PSG Talon won both its games on the first day, including a victory over group favourites LGD Gaming. The team topped its play-in group and advanced to the main event, where it was placed in Group B with DAMWON Gaming, JD Gaming, and Rogue. PSG Talon finished third in the group with a 2–4 record, ending its tournament run.

The team continued to evolve after Worlds. Tank departed in October 2021 and was replaced by veteran mid laner Huang Maple in December. This roster found immediate success, finishing first in the 2021 PCS Spring regular season, losing only a single game. PSG Talon then reached its third consecutive PCS finals and swept Beyond Gaming to win a second regional title.

Sustained Success and Further International Runs

The 2021 Spring title earned PSG Talon a spot at the Mid-Season Invitational. Unified was again unable to participate due to health issues, with Chiu Doggo stepping in as his replacement. At MSI, PSG Talon was placed in Group B with MAD Lions, paiN Gaming, and Istanbul Wildcats. The team finished second with a 4–2 record, qualifying for the rumble stage where it placed third out of six teams, advancing to the knockout stage. In the semifinals, Royal Never Give Up eliminated PSG Talon in a four-game series.

Domestic dominance continued in the 2021 PCS Summer split, where PSG Talon completed an undefeated regular season. After sweeping J Team in the semifinals, the team qualified for the 2021 World Championship and its fourth consecutive PCS finals, where it defeated Beyond Gaming. At the 2021 Worlds main event, PSG Talon was drawn into Group C with Royal Never Give Up, Hanwha Life Esports, and Fnatic. The team finished third in the group and did not advance to the knockout stage.

Later Years and Controversial Exit

The partnership with PSG Esports experienced turbulence. It was temporarily ended in January 2025 before the start of the League of Legends Championship Pacific season, then resumed in July 2025. Under the PSG Talon banner, the team qualified for the 2025 World Championship as the LCP's third seed. Its run was brief, as the team was eliminated in the Swiss stage without a win, losing to Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, and Vivo Keyd Stars.

The organization's run in professional League of Legends ended in November 2025. Riot Games announced the removal of Talon Esports from both the League of Legends Championship Pacific and the Valorant Champions Tour Pacific. This decision followed reports that Talon had failed to pay its players and staff on time. The organization attributed these issues to delays in funding from its most recent financing round. PSG had once again ended its partnership prior to this announcement. Talon was subsequently replaced in the LCP for the 2026 season by the Australian organization Ground Zero Gaming, which had fielded a Taiwanese roster in the PCS the prior year.

A Diverse Portfolio of Competitive Divisions

Beyond League of Legends, Talon Esports maintained a wide array of competitive divisions. Its Rainbow Six Siege team, based in South Korea and competing in the BLAST R6 Asia-Pacific League's APAC North division, was brought under the PSG Talon banner in March 2024 as part of the expanded partnership. In Valorant, Talon was announced as a partner team for the Valorant APAC league in September 2022, though it was later removed in November 2025 due to financial troubles. Its spot for the 2026 season was taken by the Thai organization Full Sense.

The organization also fielded teams in numerous other games. Its Overwatch division began in March 2017 with a Taipei-based roster. After failing to qualify for the Overwatch Pacific Championship, the team disbanded but returned in 2018 with an all-Korean roster for Pacific Contenders, where it topped various seasons before disbanding in September 2022. Talon entered the Pokémon Unite Championship Series in April 2023 with an all-Filipino roster, aiming to qualify for the World Championships, but the team disbanded in September 2025.

Sponsorships, Scandal, and Disbandments

Talon's Arena of Valor team was rebranded as KFC Talon Esports in January 2022 after an extended partnership gave the fast food chain naming rights. This division was involved in a significant scandal at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. During the women's tournament, player Naphat Warasin, representing Thailand, was caught downloading unauthorized third-party software during a match against Vietnam. The Thai team was disqualified, Warasin was dropped by Talon and given a lifetime ban by publisher Garena. The Arena of Valor division disbanded in January 2026, with staff forming a new organization called Tenacity, which also took Talon's announced spot in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Super League Thailand.

In Counter-Strike, Talon was announced in August 2017 and re-entered Counter-Strike 2 in August 2024 with an Oceanic roster, only to disband in March 2025. This pattern of entries and exits across multiple titles was a feature of the organization's broad but sometimes unstable approach to competition.

Organization Funding and Financial Instability

Talon Esports secured significant investment throughout its history. In November 2019, Canadian firm New Wave Esports Corporation announced a strategic investment. A year later, in October 2020, CEO Sean Zhang announced the organization had secured US$2 million in seed funding from investors. In May 2024, Talon was named one of thirty clubs in the Esports World Cup Foundation's Club Support Program, which is funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. This program granted a one-time six-figure stipend for entering new esports and offered additional annual funding based on driving viewership and fan engagement to the Esports World Cup.

Despite these investments, financial management became a critical issue. The delays in player and staff payments that led to Talon's removal from Riot Games' leagues in 2025 were directly linked by the organization to funding delays from its latest financing round. This financial instability ultimately precipitated the end of its most prominent competitive ventures and cast a shadow over its earlier successes.