Sources: EXCEL hire Schalke 04’s Tim Reichert as esports director

Schalke 04 Esports managing director Tim Reichert has joined British esports organization EXCEL ESPORTS as their new esports director, sources have told Dexerto.

There are changes aplenty in Schalke 04’s esports section, which recently announced its departure from top-tier European League of Legends competition LEC.

Now, the leader of Schalke 04’s esports efforts, Tim Reichert, has decided to move on from the club and join a competitor, sources have informed Dexerto. He served as the club’s head of esports from May 2016 to September 2017 and chief gaming officer from October 2017 to June 2018.

From there, another role change saw him become the managing director of the esports division until his departure. Now, sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed he has joined another LEC team, EXCEL, as their new director of esports. He’ll assume responsibility for the organization’s competitive operations.

During his time at Schalke 04 Esports, Reichert was at the helm of the brand. They were best known as one of 10 long-term partner teams in the LEC until they recently sold their spot in the league to Team BDS for $31.5m following their relegation in football. They will remain in esports by competing in the Prime League Pro Division, a Riot-operated league for the DACH region.

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EXCEL co-founder Kieran Holmes-Darby named Wouter Sleijffers as the org’s CEO in January 2020 and took up the role of esports director — the position that Reichert now holds. Sources couldn’t confirm Holmes-Darby’s future at the time of publication and EXCEL did not respond to Dexerto’s request for comment.

Joel Holmes-Darby, the older brother of Kieran and also a co-founder of EXCEL, left the organization after six years in August 2020. He would go on to become the general manager of fellow UK org Method, but only after revealing that he was “gutted” that his time at EXCEL had “come to an end prematurely.”

As well as Riot Games’ premier competition for European League of Legends, EXCEL field competitors in Fortnite, Valorant, and, most recently, FIFA. They announced the signing of Tom ‘Tom’ Leese on September 24 in what is reported to be the biggest signing in FIFA esports to date.

EXCEL raised £17m in investment back in July 2021 in an effort to boost growth, which CEO Sleijffers claimed was the org “entering the next chapter.” He believes that they now have the ability to “go from a household name in UK esports to an international recognized, diverse British gaming brand.”