Million-dollar deal for pro-gaming team

A professional League of Legends (LoL) team has been sold for a fee close to $1m (£625,000).
 
More than 15,000 fans watched the 2015 League of Legends world championship final

 The deal involves the European LoL squad from Team Dignitas which has been sold to the Follow Esports group. Prior to the sale, Team Dignitas had two professional League squads, one European and one North American, on its books.

However, rules for the pro-gaming LoL circuit specify that an esports group can only manage one team.

Early reports about the sale suggested the team would be sold for around $500,000 (£324,000).

However, Michael O'Dell ,general manager of Team Dignitas, said that the final deal was far higher than the early estimate.

"It was closer to $1m, I can't say the exact amount," Mr O'Dell told the BBC.

Four players, Martin "Wunderwear" Hansen, Chres "Sencux" Laursen, Kasper "Kobbe" Kobberup and Nicolai "Nisbeth" Nisbeth, transfer to Follow Esports under the deal. It is currently looking to recruit one more player to round out its squad and to employ a head coach and lead analyst to support the players.

Mr O'Dell said he had found a "great buyer" for the team who will look after its former players.

The team will be competing in the League of Legends Championships Series that sees the top 20 teams in the world battle it out for a chance to take part in the game's world championship competition.

This weekend, South Korean team SKT1 was crowned world champions at LoL after defeating Koo Tigers in the final held in Berlin.