After losing its entire lineup this offseason, European League Championship Series (LCS) squad Elements has declined offers to buy its league spot and will be forced to build a new roster for the 2016 Spring season.
The team was in the process of negotiating the sale with esports organization Nevo—which formerly owned a Challenger squad that it sold to Gamers2—for a reported €450,000 (about $493,000).
But according to sources close to Elements and Nevo, the two failed to come to a final agreement.
As a result, Elements has missed the deadline—Dec. 9—for new team agreements to be filed with Riot Games. Owner Jacob “Maelk” Toft-Andersen has signed an agreement as owner for the spot. This means that he and his organization will need to find and field five players by Jan. 2.
The Elements exodus began in November with the departure of legendary mid laner Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, long-time marksman Erik “Tabzz” van Helvert, and veteran jungler Marcel “Dexter” Feldkamp. The team also decided against negotiating with top laner Jesper “Jwaow” Strandgren, who later left the team and joined Natus Vincere’s Challenger team. Head coach Patrick “Nyph” Funke’s role with the team is still uncertain, but one source claims he will not be continue working with the team in 2016.
Elements is the first team that’s failed to sell its spot in the LCS this offseason. Fellow European squads Team Dignitas EU and Gambit Gaming both successfully sold their spots to Splyce (formerly Follow eSports) and Team Vitality respectively. Dignitas EU’s spot reportedly went for $850,000 with Gambit Gaming’s spot rumored to have been sold for roughly €400,000 (about $437,000).
With a limited amount of star free agents in Europe, the team could be food for auto-relegation next split. It placed seventh twice in 2015 despite a strong lineup in both splits. Was that poor performance down to the players or the management? If the latter, then fans probably won’t be encouraged by Maelk’s return to the helm. As for the players, they’ll have a chance to prove it was all fluke when they play next season.
Photo via Riot Games/Flickr
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