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| Short name | S04 |
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| Games | |
| Founded | 16 May 2016 |
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| Based in | Adlershof, Berlin, Germany |
| Parent group | FC Schalke 04 |
| Website | schalke04 |
| Departments of Schalke 04 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Schalke 04 Esports is the esports department of football club FC Schalke 04. It has a FIFA division and a League of Legends division; the latter is a member of the Prime League, the European Regional League for League of Legends teams competing in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Schalke formerly had a League of Legends team competing in the LEC (formerly the EU LCS), the top level of professional League of Legends in Europe.[1] The team was relegated to the European League of Legends Challenger Series (EU CS) in the 2017 EU LCS Spring Promotion tournament but returned to the EU LCS after defeating the Ninjas in Pyjamas in the 2018 EU LCS Spring Promotion tournament.[2]
In June 2021, FC Schalke 04 announced that it would sell its LEC slot to Team BDS, a Swiss esports organisation, for 26.5 million euros.[3] The decision was made due to a combination of the coronavirus pandemic's impact on association football and the relegation of FC Schalke 04 to the second division of the Bundesliga after an exceptionally poor performance in the 2020–21 Bundesliga season, crippling the team's finances and pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy.
- ^ "Schalke 04 announces purchase of LoL team". ESPN. 16 May 2016.
- ^ Newell, Adam (25 August 2017). "Schalke 04 return to the EU LCS in 2018". Dot Esports. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ Team BDS acquires Schalke 04's LEC slot for €26.5 million in second-largest franchise deal in Western history