A new organization is investing in the North American League Challenger scene, and it’s bringing back a legend in the process.
MAelstrom Gaming has picked two Challenger squads with intentions of qualifying for the upcoming 2015 Summer Challenger Series. The teams formerly known as Elomingle and Storm are now a part of the organization, rebranding to MAGnetic Gaming and MAelstrom, respectively. Both teams have recently secured their spots in the Challenger Series Qualifier, which begins today. In MAelstrom’s case, its new owners are supplying the team with a weapon familiar to long-time League fans: Lyubomir “BloodWater” Spasov.
MAelstrom is a collective of three U.S. businessmen: Micheal “Devilian” Roschenwimmer, Asad “Vhaan” Awan, and Gerard “BM” Kelly, the three have decided on the name MAelstrom Gaming (note the capitalization).
“When we started Maelstrom Gaming we set out to find a team that had the potential to be successful in the competitive League scene and fit our cultural values,” organization owner Micheal “Devilian” Roschenwimmer told the Daily Dot.
Roschenwimmer calls running a professional League of Legends team a “dream” for the three owners.
“We didn’t expect to find two teams of the caliber of players we were looking for, but in our first conversation with both teams, the three of us [the owners] and our analyst (Entus) immediately knew these players had the skills, passion, and outlook we were looking for. We immediately reorganized to accommodate both teams to help them prepare for the qualifier. Now we are just excited to watch them fight their way thru the bracket in the next couple of days.”
Unlike MAelstrom, MAGnetic have secured a bye to the final round of qualifier Group A. That’s thanks to their previous performances in the 2015 Spring Challenger Series, under the name Team SoloMid Darkness. But the team was dropped from the SoloMid brand after marksman David “t3azer” Berube leaked scrimmage footage. The team has since parted ways with Berube and will be gearing up with a new and revamped roster for the qualifier, including replacements in the mid lane, AD carry, and jungle roles.
Former Enemy eSports Michael “Wolfe” Taylor will join the team in the mid lane, while Cody “TheMassacre8” Sun will play the marksman role in the bot lane. The jungle change, however, is a role swap for former Escalate Legion Gaming and Storm Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett, who’s traditionally played in the top lane. Returning to the team will be top laner Ryan “Big Ol Ron” Ballard and Paul “Indivisible” Nguyen.
Like its sister team, MAelstrom has also had a roster mix up for the qualifiers. The most interesting addition is former XDG Gaming and Vulcun support Spasov, who’s returning from retirement to suit up with the team. He’ll be joined by Richard “Cat” He in the top lane, Fusion substitute Michael “MiMo” Moreira in the Jungle, and returning players mid laner Zachary “Mancloud” Allan Hoschar (who had a short stint with Team Coast) this spring, and marksman Tristan “xPecake” Cote-Lalumiere.
Qualifiers for the Challenger Series begin today with MAelstrom’s first match against Aware Gaming. MAGnetic, however, will have time to prepare as they are likely to face group favorite Misfits or Liquid Academy in the coming weeks.
