In the last couple of days, rumours that SK Gaming has been sold to another organization arose on social media. News outlets all over the place started speculating if it is true, and who the buyer could be. The leading German soccer club FC Bayern Munich? The North American esports organization Evil Geniuses? On CS:GO’s subreddit, the topic even made it to the front page. Where does the rumour come from, and more importantly, is there any truth to it?

We reached out to Alexander Müller, SK Gaming’s Managing Director, to ask him what’s it all about. His answer:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“It’s nonsense. We are SK Gaming and we will stay SK Gaming.”[/perfectpullquote]

So what’s it all about then?

It all started when esports pundit Richard Lewis stated on his show that “SK Gaming has been sold to another organization.” Lewis claimed, that from a monetary point of view it would make sense because “from what I understand, SK would not have the financial clout to come and get Luminosity.” Then, Lewis sums up who is rumoured to be in talks to buy SK:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Some say it’s gonna be a sports team, some people have noticed that the owner and founder of SK Gaming has recently been following representatives of Bayern Munich on Twitter. Some people have said it’s gonna be Evil Geniuses, so there’s a lots of speculation about who it’s gonna be.”[/perfectpullquote]

Of course, the esports gossip machinery caught fire. According to SK Gaming’s Alexander Müller, none of it is true though.

Although, when it comes to rumours, there is often a germ of truth to them. In this case for example, the fact that Müller follows Bayern Munich representatives. But is that enough to back up the rumours? Apparently not. Müller is a long-time Bayern-fan, which he never made any secret of. In fact, there are tweets dating back to 2009, where Müller cheers for Bayern.

At least Bayern is winning again! 5-1 over Dortmund was really good! Especially Müller scoring twice and turning 20 tomorrow. Gratz! — Alex Müller (@DeSchlang) September 12, 2009

And while it’s likely that a club like Bayern Munich has a close eye on esports, even more so after FC Schalke 04 entering the stage lately, there is no solid evidence yet, that they actually commit. Sure, the sales pitch for Müller would be great, as he has just secured the best CS:GO team in the world. On the other hand, why should Bayern jump head first into CS:GO? Just like Schalke, it’s more likely they will start with a more “family-friendly” title like League of Legends, or with something “natural” to a soccer club, like FIFA.

Why are there talks about SK selling at all, though? One reason could be Ralf Reichert’s announcement from May 26, in which he stated: “I accepted an offer 2 weeks ago to sell my minority shares in SK Gaming.”

If the name Ralf Reichert sounds a bell to you, that’s probably because, today, he is known as the CEO of Turtle Entertainment, the company behind the ESL, which was founded in 2000. However, Reichert’s name is tied to esports since 1997 when the brothers Ralf, Tim, and Benjamin Reichert—among others—founded SK Gaming as a German Quake clan.

Since 2009, when Alexander Müller was given full executive authority of SK Gaming, Reichert wasn’t involved in the operational business of the team anymore, albeit still being a shareholder. Müller respectively, was a founder and shareholder of the ESL, working as the Director Marketing & Sales from 2000 to 2005. When Turtle Entertainment sold a 74 per cent majority stake to MTG last year, Müller’s tie to ESL was cut. To proactively defend himself against accusations of a potential conflict of interest, Reichert, now, sold his remaining SK Gaming shares.

While one could argue, that both Müller and Reichert acted late—SK Gaming took part in ESL events ever since—one also has to acknowledge that esports was still in its infancy. Other than today, esports was still mainly driven by passion and much less by money. That said, the described connections also were public and have never been questioned too much. And while we are on it: Schalke’s new Head of Esports, Tim Reichert, probably dealt with the same issue already.

After all, SK Gaming definitely had shares to sell and is likely going to announce a new strategic partner soon. SK’s heavy commitment to CS:GO, after mediocre results in recent years (since 2011 SK shifted a lot of resources from CS:GO to League of Legends, basically not caring about Counter-Strike anymore), of course, doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s highly likely, that money had to be raised to acquire the Brazilian roster that is topping the world rankings right now. The rumours of Bayern Munich or Evil Geniuses acquiring SK Gaming, however, are no more than that: rumours and speculation.

SK Gaming, one of the oldest brands in esports with almost 20 years in business, will stay SK Gaming for a long time.