Beşiktaş Esports becomes the latest team to withdraw from the professional League of Legends. The organization has spent more than 10 years here, but it seems like things have to change.
Beşiktaş Esports’s Exit From the Professional League of Legends Scene
Beşiktaş Esports decided to release a statement where it explained it had to make this decision following an internal review. It seems like there were sustainability concerns and other issues that led to this decision.
Even though the Turkish organization is no longer a part of LoL, it left the door open for a potential return. The first time we saw Beşiktaş Esports in LoL was in 2015, and it was among the first big sports clubs to have an esports division. As expected, the team had success over the years and won two Turkish regional leagues. It even took part in the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational.
Could Beşiktaş Esports’ Exit Trigger a Wider Shift?
Some people in the esports community think that Beşiktaş Esports’s departure may become more than a single organization decision. Since most of these teams are not performing that well across all titles, it could be a sign that other clubs will also re-evaluate their League of Legends investments.
A lot of the legacy sports organizations entered the esports industry when it experienced rapid growth. It is true that the industry is growing overall, but these teams also have a lot of costs, shrinking margins, and inconsistent competitive results.
If other clubs are also facing similar issues, they may redirect budgets towards titles with clearer monetization paths. Only time will tell, but we at Blix.gg really hope that this won’t be the case because it will have an impact on the entire industry, not just LoL.
