The last time we saw Immortals in the LCS was in 2017, when they lost to TSM in the Summer Split Finals. If you were a fan of that team, you might be in luck—Immortals Gaming Club could be making a return to the League of Legends scene by purchasing the parent company of OpTic Gaming, Infinite Esports and Entertainment, according to EsportsInsider.
On May 1, Immortals rebranded to Immortals Gaming Club after the acquisition of Gamers Club, a Brazilian matchmaking platform. The company also secured a Series B funding round that totaled $30 million. A day later, ESPN’s Jacob Wolf reported that IGC was interested in acquiring Infinite Esports and Entertainment.
If this sale goes through, it will mean that all the teams under Infinite Esports’ umbrella will come under IGC control. This includes OpTic Gaming, its various esports teams, and the Houston Outlaws.
The only hiccup with the purchase relates to OpTic Gaming’s Overwatch League team. Since IGC already has its own Overwatch League team in the Los Angeles Valiant, it’d have to sell the Houston Outlaws. It’s against league rules for a company to house two OWL teams.
Meanwhile, this means that Immortals will be making its return to the LCS after a two-year hiatus. In 2018, the LCS introduced league franchising. Immortals was denied partnership (along with Team Dignitas, Team Envyus and Pheonix1). Those teams were replaced by OpTic Gaming, Clutch Gaming, 100 Thieves, and Golden Guardians.
Additionally, this could be the end of the OpTic Gaming brand in esports. The organization’s Counter-Strike team will disband since IGC own MIBR, and its Call of Duty team will change its name due to franchising requirements for the CoD World League. That would leave only the LCS team, and it’s certainly possible that the organization might rebrand the team and return the Immortals name to the LCS stage.
Published: May 14, 2019 09:54 am