After six years in European professional LoL, Misfits Gaming is saying goodbye competitive League of Legends and selling its LEC spot to Team Heretics.
The team that has become synonymous with comeback wins this year and that fans still remember for the rollercoaster series against SKT T1 at Worlds 2017 is ending their LEC adventure.
— LEC (@LEC) July 27, 2022
Misfits CEO and co-founder Ben Spoont explained this decision as part of Misfits’ mission to diversify and the choices it required, stating “We did not make this decision lightly and ran an exhaustive process vetting numerous interested offer parties and came to the decision that Team Heretics was the right selection to continue on as responsible stewards of the league.” As part of their divestment, Misfits Gaming will be selling their LFL team spot as well. However, the team’s announcement did state that Misfits Gaming Group will remain a minority stakeholder.
A History of Misfits
Misfits Gaming has been one of Europe’s well-known organizations ever since fighting its way through the European Challenger Series to join the then-EU LCS in 2016 . The organization was founded when its parent organization Renegades lost its rights to compete after a controversial Riot Games decision. The former Renegades Banditos qualified for the 2017 EU LCS Spring split, fielding now-superstars like Barney "Alphari" Morris, Steven "Hans sama" Liv, and Lee "IgNar" Dong-geun alongside proven names like Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage and Lee "KaKAO" Byung-kwon. The team made the playoffs twice in 2017 and even went to Worlds, where they eliminated LCS champions TSM in an amazing upset to reach quarterfinals. Misfits went to five games against then World Champion SKT T1, showing some incredibly plays, but in the end it was not enough for an upset that would likely have been the biggest in LoL competitive history.
Misfits struggled to find their identity in the next several years, having decent but not stellar performances in 2018 and opting for a star-studded roster that crashed and burned the year after. Still, the team secured a spot in the franchising of the league and has since often gravitated around the middle of the table until settling on what looked like another strong roster in 2022. Misfits were the dark horse team in spring where they managed to pull off multiple miracle comebacks. In the summer, they couldn’t quite repeat their performances, but remain a dangerous team to underestimate. Of course, whether their squad can keep their motivation is a different issue - last year we saw FC Schalke 04 Esports’ form crumble after the team agreed to sell their spot.
Who Are Team Heretics?
Team Heretics was created in 2016 by Jorge "Goorgo" Orejudo, a popular Spanish content creator. In 2017, the team tried to make it to the Challenger series, but despite fielding current Fnatic jungler Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz did not progress past the open qualifiers. Since then, the organization has taken part in multiple smaller tournaments before joining the Spanish regional league LVP, where they are currently tied for first place in the summer season.
Joined @LEC
— Team Heretics (@TeamHeretics) July 27, 2022
2023 is shaping to be an interesting year in the LEC - now we need to see if the rumors of a league expansion pan out as well!