Shopify Rebellion is one of the most unique esports organizations in the world — a team built not by a venture capital firm or a traditional sports investor, but by a $100 billion e-commerce company that decided competitive gaming was worth betting on.
And in January 2025, that bet got a lot more interesting when two of the most popular creators on the internet joined as co-owners in a merger that made headlines across the gaming world.
Who Owns Shopify Rebellion in 2026?
Shopify Rebellion is primarily owned and backed by Shopify Inc. — the publicly traded Canadian e-commerce giant.
But since January 17, 2025, the organization has three additional co-owners following a full merger with Moist Esports: content creator Charles “MoistCr1TiKaL” White Jr., streamer and YouTube personality Ludwig Ahgren, and Matt “SuperSpicyMatt” Phillips.
Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOP / TSX: SHOP) remains the primary backer and the company behind the name.
The esports organization was founded internally by Shopify on February 19, 2021, and continues to operate under the Shopify umbrella with Jeremy “Grog” Steeves serving as General Manager. Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein also holds a formal role within the organization’s corporate structure.
Ownership and Key Stakeholders Table
| Owner / Party | Role | Stake / Position | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Inc. | Primary Owner & Backer | Majority owner; funds the organization | Publicly traded (NASDAQ: SHOP); founded Shopify Rebellion in February 2021 |
| Tobi Lütke | Indirect Owner via Shopify | ~6–7% of Shopify (Class B shares) | CEO and co-founder of Shopify; net worth ~$10 billion (Forbes, July 2026) |
| Harley Finkelstein | President of Shopify; listed in SR corporate structure | Internal Shopify role | President of Shopify since 2020; formally listed in Shopify Rebellion’s structure |
| Charles “MoistCr1TiKaL” White Jr. | Co-Owner | Co-owner since January 17, 2025 | Content creator; 16.4M+ YouTube subscribers; founded Moist Esports in 2021 |
| Ludwig Ahgren | Co-Owner | Co-owner since January 17, 2025 | Streamer/YouTuber; was co-owner of Moist Esports since 2023 before merger |
| Matt “SuperSpicyMatt” Phillips | Co-Owner | Co-owner since January 17, 2025 | Third co-owner joining through the Moist Esports merger |
| Jeremy “Grog” Steeves | General Manager / Founder of Shopify Rebellion | Operational lead | Founded and built Shopify Rebellion from within Shopify; runs day-to-day ops |
The Origin Story: A Snowboard Store Mentality Enters Esports
The roots of Shopify Rebellion go back to the company culture Tobi Lütke built at Shopify. Lütke, a German-Canadian entrepreneur who famously started Shopify after building an online store to sell snowboards, has always believed in backing underdogs and independent operators.
The word “Rebellion” in the team’s name is a direct nod to Shopify’s identity as a platform built for independent merchants — the rebels fighting back against the dominance of retail giants.
Shopify Rebellion was officially founded on February 19, 2021, making it one of the few esports organizations in the world created and wholly owned by a major publicly traded technology company.
From day one, Shopify positioned the team not as a marketing exercise but as a genuine competitive operation — building rosters across multiple games, investing in players, and approaching esports with the same long-term mindset the company applies to its core business.
The Moist Esports Merger: January 2025
The biggest ownership development in Shopify Rebellion’s history happened on January 17, 2025, when the organization announced a full merger with Moist Esports — bringing Charles White Jr. (MoistCr1TiKaL) and Ludwig Ahgren on board as co-owners under the Shopify Rebellion banner.
Moist Esports had been founded by MoistCr1TiKaL (also known as Charlie White) in 2021, entering the fighting game community (FGC) first before expanding into Rocket League, Apex Legends, and Valorant. Ludwig Ahgren joined as co-owner in 2023.
The two organizations had already been collaborating publicly — including a joint Valorant venture called Moist x Shopify (MxS) — and Jeremy Steeves revealed they had been working closely behind the scenes for over a year before the merger was announced.
The decision to merge was not made because business was booming. In a video posted to his channel, MoistCr1TiKaL was refreshingly honest about the finances — Moist Esports had lost approximately $4.2 million over four years of operation.
He called esports a “worse investment than Hawk Tuah coin.” The merger, he said, was happening purely “for the love of the game.” That honesty was widely praised in the esports community and actually drew more attention to the new organization than a typical corporate press release ever would have.
As part of the deal, all Moist Esports teams transitioned to the Shopify Rebellion name. The organization also adopted some of Moist’s beloved branding — including the iconic droplet mascots — alongside the existing Rebellion mascot.
What Games Does Shopify Rebellion Compete In?
Shopify Rebellion competes across an unusually wide range of titles, making it one of the most diverse multi-game organizations in North American esports.
The organization fields active rosters in Valorant, League of Legends (in the LTA North league — a position previously held by TSM, whose LCS franchise was purchased by Shopify Rebellion in September 2023), Apex Legends, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rocket League, Guilty Gear Strive, Street Fighter, Dota 2, and StarCraft II.
On January 22, 2025, just days after the merger announcement, Shopify Rebellion Gold — the organization’s Valorant Game Changers roster — made history by becoming the first Game Changers team to qualify for Valorant Challengers, the second tier of professional Valorant competition in North America.
The Man Behind the Organization: Tobi Lütke
Since Shopify owns Shopify Rebellion, understanding the esports team’s ownership ultimately runs through Tobi Lütke — the German-Canadian billionaire who has led Shopify as its CEO since 2008.
Lütke owns approximately 6–7% of Shopify through a combination of Class B shares and other equity instruments. Forbes listed his real-time net worth at $10 billion as of July 2026, while Bloomberg placed the figure closer to $14.9 billion. His entire fortune is essentially tied to Shopify’s performance — when the stock moves, so does his net worth. In Q2 2026, Shopify reported $3.583 billion in revenue — up 34% year-over-year — with gross merchandise volume reaching $115.56 billion, confirming the company’s trajectory as one of the most important infrastructure businesses in global e-commerce.
Lütke is also a competitive racing driver, participating in the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship in the LMP2 class for Era Motorsport — a detail that aligns with his broader identity as someone who takes hobbies and competition seriously. That same seriousness shows up in how Shopify approaches Rebellion — not as a vanity project, but as a real competitive organization.
Is Shopify Rebellion Profitable?
The honest answer is: almost certainly not — at least not yet — and the people involved have been unusually transparent about it.
The esports industry broadly has struggled with profitability for years. MoistCr1TiKaL’s admission that Moist Esports lost $4.2 million over four years before the merger was a rare moment of public candor in an industry that often talks about growth while quietly bleeding cash. For Shopify, however, Shopify Rebellion is less a profit center and more a brand investment — a way to connect the Shopify name with a young, digitally-native audience that represents the future of both gaming and commerce.
The merger with Moist Esports was explicitly framed as a way to pool resources, reduce duplicated costs, and build a more resilient single organization rather than two separate teams both struggling to survive. Jeremy Steeves put it plainly: “Coming together allows us to field more and stronger teams, invest deeper for fans, provide more to our players, and create a singular, more resilient organisation over the long-term.”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns Shopify Rebellion in 2026?
Shopify Rebellion is owned by Shopify Inc. as the primary backer, with MoistCr1TiKaL, Ludwig Ahgren, and Matt Phillips as co-owners since January 17, 2025.
Q2. When was Shopify Rebellion founded?
Shopify Rebellion was founded on February 19, 2021 by Shopify Inc., with Jeremy Steeves building and running the organization internally.
Q3. Who is MoistCr1TiKaL and why does he co-own Shopify Rebellion?
Charles “MoistCr1TiKaL” White Jr. is a YouTuber with 16.4 million+ subscribers who co-owned Moist Esports; his organization merged with Shopify Rebellion in January 2025, making him a co-owner.
Q4. Did Shopify Rebellion buy TSM’s League of Legends spot?
Yes. In September 2023, Shopify Rebellion purchased TSM’s LCS franchise spot, giving the organization a permanent League of Legends spot in what is now the LTA North league.
Q5. Who is the CEO of Shopify, the parent company of Shopify Rebellion?
Tobias “Tobi” Lütke is the CEO and co-founder of Shopify, with a net worth of approximately $10 billion as of 2026, almost entirely tied to his Shopify equity stake.
Q6. Is Shopify Rebellion profitable?
No — MoistCr1TiKaL publicly admitted that Moist Esports lost $4.2 million over four years, and the January 2025 merger was driven by a desire to build a more sustainable combined operation rather than immediate profit.
Q7. What games does Shopify Rebellion compete in?
Shopify Rebellion competes in Valorant, League of Legends, Apex Legends, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter, Guilty Gear Strive, Dota 2, StarCraft II, and more.
Q8. What is the Moist x Shopify Valorant team?
Moist x Shopify (MxS) was a joint-venture Valorant team formed before the full merger — it was the first formal collaboration between Moist Esports and Shopify Rebellion, serving as the foundation for the January 2025 full organizational merger.
Shopify Rebellion is owned by Shopify Inc. — the publicly traded Canadian e-commerce company (NASDAQ: SHOP) founded by Tobi Lütke, who built a $100 billion commerce platform out of a failed snowboard store and used that same challenger mentality to build an esports team.
Since January 17, 2025, the organization has three additional co-owners — MoistCr1TiKaL (Charles White Jr.), Ludwig Ahgren, and Matt Phillips — following the full merger of Moist Esports into the Shopify Rebellion banner.
The team competes across more than 10 titles, holds a League of Legends franchise spot in LTA North, and made history in Valorant by becoming the first Game Changers team to reach Challengers tier.
It may not be profitable today — but with Shopify’s financial backing and two of gaming’s most popular creators now driving the brand, it is one of the most interesting organizations in North American esports.