Immortals Looking to Buy OpTic Gaming's LCS Franchise Spot
By Wyatt Fossett ·
With Series B funding the Immortals Esports organization seeks to make their way back to the North American League of Legends Championship Series.
The once-prolific Immortals raise capital in funding and set their sights on returning to the North American League of Legends scene via OpTic Gaming’s franchise spot.
It was almost two years ago now when the Riot Games-run competitive scene in North America shifted from a relegation league into a franchise opportunity structure. Teams from all over the continent were asked to express their interest in being granted a franchise spot. Unfortunately for some, including the Immortals and their fans, not all teams were given the chance to find the funds.
Starting with the 2018 season, teams that were invited to opt-in to the LCS were given a price, and those teams would make up the North American league.
Since then, it has been the main focus of a lot of the healthier teams to regain access to the biggest League of Legends circuit on the continent, and one of the biggest on earth. Immortals are one of those organizations.
With the recent filing for purchase of Clutch Gaming, the old gods in Team Dignitas are nearing their return to the NA LCS, and the Immortals want back too.
In a report sent to ESPN, the Immortals state that they have raised a much needed $30 Million in Series B funding that will help them make a hearty bid on the OpTic Gaming LCS franchise spot which is apparently up for grabs to the right buyers.
The sale would be for part of Infinite Esports & Entertainment which includes the OpTic Gaming LCS team, as well as the Overwatch League’s Houston Outlaws organization. The latter of which would add some interesting stories to the bid, because Immortals is already in control of their own Overwatch League team in the Los Angeles Valiant.
The stake in Infinite Esports & Entertainment has been on the market for a few months now, and it has yet to be officially moved beyond the “looking” phase.
If they do manage to find their paws on a franchise spot in the LCS, the Immortals organization will have to start from scratch, because all of their former players have (mostly) great homes elsewhere. Their very formidable 2017 roster consisted of Flame (who's now back in Korea with DAMWON Gamine), Cody Son (who's on Clutch Gaming), Olleh (Golden Guardians), AnDa (100 Thieves), Pobelter (Flyquest), and Xmithie (who's going to MSI 2019 with Team Liquid).
There are other possible options to regain admission to the LCS. The historical Counter-Logic Gaming team has been pretty much tossed completely overboard through a bad showing in the 2019 Spring Split and has seen many members of team management depart since the split ended.
Are you hoping to see Immortals (under any name) return to the North American League of Legends scene? If so, which spot in the current franchise list makes the most sense?