Schalke 04 might have suffered LCS relegation in its very first split, but the German soccer club are not calling it quits in League of Legends just yet.
In an interview with sport1.de (translated by Splitpush), Schalke 04 chairman Moritz Beckers-Schwarz said that the team will aim for immediate promotion back to the LCS.
“We are pursuing a path which we will keep following next year.” Beckers-Schwarz told sport1. “The relegation this weekend will only lead to a professionalization of our Esports department. There is no alternative way, and it follows the goal of a direct promotion back to the LCS by the end of the 2017 Spring Split.”
Schalke were relegated last night after a loss to Challenger Series Summer Split champions Misfits.
The team purchased the spot from Elements in May, becoming the first traditional sports franchise to buy into the world’s biggest esports league.
Despite the excitement of the investment, the team’s lineup failed to set the world alight. Retaining four of the Elements players who had only narrowly avoided the promotion tournament in the Spring, the team started well but failed to secure a win after week four. Too many draws and dropped points saw them just above the relegation zone, eventually losing a playoff to Team Vitality and ending the season in the drop zone.
Once in the promotion tournament, Schalke still could not find form, losing to the Summer Split’s bottom side ROCCAT before the loss to Misfits.
While the team have now confirmed they will compete in the Challenger Series next year, the fate of the players is still unknown.
Their North American counterparts NRG eSports, who were relegated after a loss to Echo Fox, seemingly confirmed their intention to continue with the team on Twitter.
