Schalke 04 will sell their LEC spot in a contract worth €30 million to a currently unknown buyer.
In 2019, the European League of Legends scene franchised, turning from the EU LCS to the LEC as we know it today. A founding member of LEC franchising was Schalke 04. Since this time, the German organization played a massive role in the league. Finishing second in their inaugural year and most notably completing the ‘miracle run’ in 2020 Summer to make playoffs, Schalke’s storied history will soon be coming to an end.
After months of rumors, Schalke 04 has confirmed it will be selling it’s LEC spot. The COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide lockdown negatively effected traditional sports tremendously. Countless esports teams partly owned by sports conglomerates were similarly effected, as teams like Golden Guardians and Flyquest suffered massive cutbacks. Schalke 04’s football team were faced with relegation for the first time in 30 years and have struggled to raise funds to improve the team.
Consquently, Schalke’s League of Legends division is paying the price. Announced by BILD, Schalke will be selling their spot for €10 million more than expected. Who will be replacing Schalke 04 is currently unknown. Many have rumored that Giants Gaming could be making a return to the LEC while Karmine Corp, recent EU Masters Champions, could make a professional entrance. Other European organizations such as Guild Esports have made waves in VALORANT and looked toward larger, more established scenes. Though who will replace Schalke has yet to be revealed, we know that their LEC run is coming to an end.
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“Not Surprising”
For some the impending sale is not surprising at all. In an interview with German Kicker Esport, G2’s Carlos “Ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago said: “If you are using your esport initiatives as side business or marketing instrument to your main business, they will of course move to the background as your main business suffers.”
Strictly in terms of business Ocelote also stressed out the upsides of the sale: “I think the good news is, that they will most likely have a strong performance for their investment of around 250 or 300 percent. It shows, that we are doing a great job at making the LEC attractive to investors and marketers.”
More insight into the esport industry is surely to come during the BMW Esport Boost on June 28th. Many industry heavyweights such as Ocelote will discuss about the newest trends and current issues of the esport industry.
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