NRG Esports has recently sold its slot in the Challenger Series, signaling its exit from the competitive League of Legends circuit. Despite being backed by traditional sports stars and co-owned by Sacramento Kings co-owners Andy Miller and Mark Mastrov, NRG Esports struggled to make a lasting impact in the North American League Championship Series in 2016. In August of that year, the team was relegated after losing to Echo Fox in the Promotion Series, and all players became free agents soon after.
After four months, NRG Esports announced the sale of its slot in the North American Challenger Series to J2K Esports and Technology LLC. J2K, owned by real estate mogul James Kuhn and his son Jake Kuhn, is a new esports organization. NRG Esports’ most successful performance was during the Spring Split of 2016, where they reached the playoffs in their debut split but were swept 0-3 by Team Liquid.
The team’s performance declined in the Summer Split, despite acquiring sought-after free agent Oh “Ohq” Gyu-min from Korea. Poor performances during the regular split cost NRG Esports a playoff spot, ultimately leading to their failure to re-qualify for the league.
J2K has not yet announced the roster for the upcoming Challenger Series season, but the team will be known as Gold Coin United.