Darshan Upadhyaya, better known mononymously as Darshan and as ZionSpartan, is a Canadian-born American League of Legends player who played professionally from 2012–2023. He is most known for his four-and-a-half-year tenure as Counter Logic Gaming's top laner from November 2014 to May 2019, a time during which CLG and ZionSpartan made both the 2015 World Championship and the 2016 World Championship.[1][2] ZionSpartan and CLG also won the 2015 NALCS Summer Split as well as the 2016 NALCS Spring Split.[3] From the start of his career to November 2015, Upadhyaya played under the screenname ZionSpartan; from November 2015–2019, he played under the screenname Darshan; in 2020 he resumed playing as ZionSpartan; and in 2021 he has returned to Darshan.[4][5]
| Darshan | |
|---|---|
 Upadhyaya in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
| Name | Darshan Upadhyaya |
| Born | November 12, 1994 |
| Nationality | Canadian–American |
| Career information | |
| Game | League of Legends |
| Playing career | 2012–2023 |
| Role | Top laner |
| Team history | |
| 2012 | Monomaniac eSports |
| 2012–2013 | Team Dynamic |
| 2013 | Good Game University |
| 2013–2014 | Team Coast |
| 2014 | Team Dignitas |
| 2015–2019 | Counter Logic Gaming |
| 2019–2020 | GGS Academy |
| 2021–2022 | Cloud9 Academy |
| 2023 | 100 Thieves Challengers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Darshan was elected the inaugural president of the LCS Players Association in 2018, a loose union-like advocacy organization that represents the interests of contracted players in the LCS, and held that that position until 2022 or 2023.[6]
Personal life
editUpadhyaya was born on November 12, 1994, and is of Indian origin.[7][8][9] He resided in Poway, California, before joining professional esports.[9]
While growing up, Upadhyaya was often called by his peers his in-game name, ZionSpartan. This was branded by the NALCS in a video titled "Even his teacher called him ZionSpartan."[10]
Upadhyaya announced on Twitter in November 2023 that he was retiring from eSports.[11]
Tournament results
editCounter Logic Gaming
edit- 1st – 2015 Summer NA LCS
- 12–13th – 2015 League of Legends World Championship
- 2nd – IEM X San Jose
- 1st – 2016 Spring NA LCS
- 2nd – 2016 Mid-Season Invitational
- 4th – 2016 NA LCS Summer regular season
- 4th – 2016 NA LCS Summer playoffs
References
edit- ^ Steven Asarch. "'League of Legends' CLG Manages To Beat Crowd Favorite TSM In NA LCS Finals". iDigitalTimes.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ^ "TSM and CLG are in the NA LCS finals (again)". yahoo.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ^ "G2 Esports, Counter Logic Gaming are the EU and NA LCS champions". yahoo.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ^ "Darshan changes name back to ZionSpartan, embraces his past". 11 January 2020.
- ^ Meet The Best League of Legends Academy Team In North America
- ^ "NA LCS Players Association Announces Results of Inaugural Executive Officer Election – ARCHIVE - the Esports Observer". 14 June 2018.
- ^ Mayur Vashishth. Indian origin personalities in Esports. 22 April 2016. esportsportal.com.
- ^ Golden Guardians [@GoldenGuardians] (November 12, 2020). "On his birthday, everybody calls him ZionSpartan" (Tweet). Retrieved May 13, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Fenn, Mike (June 18, 2013). "This 18-year-old is skipping college to become a League of Legends pro". Daily Dot. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Even His Teacher Calls Him ZionSpartan". Youtube. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ @DarshanU (November 13, 2023). "A decade of league and what's next... Thank you to everyone I had the pleasure of interacting with in eSports. Whether you were a fan, coach, teammate, manager, or even just in the scene, you all had a meaningful impact on my life. These memories will live on forever in my heart. I feel moved to find the ways in which I can give back to this community. I hope you can support me in the next chapter of my life" (Tweet) – via Twitter.