After the great success of Schalke 04’s entry into the world of esports, it has now been announced via the esport team’s official Twitter page that the football club and League of Legends will officially go their separate ways in the future. But how does the sudden end come about?
Last Tuesday, fans of the Schalke 04 LEC spot had to take a deep breath. In the professional League of Legends league in Europe, the Swiss organization team “BDS” will take over the Schalke license from the spring season 2022 and fight for the title with ten other teams. The license with the best of congratulations was sold to Switzerland for an impressive 26.5 million euros .
WHAT ABOUT THE END OF THE ESPORT LEC LICENSE?
This step came as a surprise, as the scene had seen a great increase in value over the past few years. Last but not least, the League of Legends team has been a solid and economically important factor for the club since 2016, as Alexander Jobst explains himself as the director of marketing, sales and organization. The question now arises as to how it could still be sold?
The answer is to be found outside the Esports department of Schalke 04. For the first time in 33 years, the club is faced with relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga . What is not going right on the pitch is now worsened by the consequences of the corona pandemic. The financial situation makes “[…] this decision necessary […]”, regrets the managing director of Esports GmbH Schalke, Claudio Kasper. Among other things, this suggests that the main focus of the club should again be on the football game, which may have been neglected by esports.
THE REGRET OF THE CLUB AND FANS IS GREAT
A sincere apology to fans can be found on the official Twitter post . In memory of the strong performance, the club recalls its era with the following words: “When we were relegated in our first EU LCS season, many expected Schalke to drop the project immediately, but we came back stronger and have been competing at the highest level ever since. “
How things will stand in the future for other esports projects such as the soccer game “FIFA”, “Pro Evolution Soccer” or the “League of Legends Prime League” is still unclear. It remains to be seen whether the association will also try to generate urgently needed funds through their sale.
