Schalke Purchase eSports Team Elements: Latest Comments and Reaction

German football giants Schalke 04 have completed their purchase of the 2016 EU League of Legends Championship Series spot owned by eSports team Elements.  

The takeover was confirmed via the club's official website on May 16, and Moritz Beckers-Schwarz, chairman of the board at FC Schalke 04 Arena Management GmbH, provided a statement which read:

“We have noticed that the level of professionalism in eSports has continued to grow over the past years. Particular noteworthy is the development of structures within League of Legends and the flagship League of Legends Championship.”

Jacob Wolf of ESPN reported the club has "finalized its roster and support staff for the upcoming summer split," adding that "the team will rename from Elements to Schalke 04 and represent the club's logo on its jersey this summer."

The online gaming community will take plenty of encouragement from seeing a European football club like Schalke furthering their involvement in eSports.

The Gelsenkirchen-based outfit could be just the first German club to get involved too, as eSports commentator Joe Miller teased the idea of Germany's bigger titans owning teams in future:

Schalke's backing means Elements will see an increase in revenue first and foremost, while the improving exposure of eSports means they could be getting in at the ground floor of a rising commodity.

Miller also touched on the fact that German sports clubs tend to have more than just football teams attached to them before speaking on the potential for growth after their initial investment:

And all signs suggest the sport is growing. According to Red Bull, 2015 was a record-breaking year for eSports in viewing figures, team investment and prize pools.

Schalke aren't alone in their investment, either. The Mirror's Liam Corless recently reported Premier League outfit West Ham United had become the first club ever to "sign" an eSports player, 24-year-old FIFA specialist Sean "Dragonn" Allen, who will represent the club in online tournaments.

The possibilities for Schalke are extremely open at this early stage of their association with Elements, but team investment stands as the most obvious variable, one that should allow the team to recruit star players.

Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal and baseball legend Alex Rodriguez are some of the athletes already invested in eSports, per Chris Higgins of MCVUK.com, showing there's faith in the model yielding returns.

Daniel Rosen of The Score reported Elements is still a relatively young team, having only formed in January 2015 and losing some of their star players to other outfits and narrowly avoiding relegation last season.

League of Legends is steadily drawing greater crowds as an eSports powerhouse, and Germany's Schalke have taken the initiative in attempting to crack the world of online gaming.