diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/watcher/trigger/schedule/ScheduleModule.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/watcher/trigger/schedule/ScheduleModule.java
index fc8d95d7cc1..0220b2b5283 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/watcher/trigger/schedule/ScheduleModule.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/watcher/trigger/schedule/ScheduleModule.java
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ public class ScheduleModule extends AbstractModule {
         protected abstract Class<? extends TriggerEngine> engineType();
 
         public static Engine resolve(Settings settings) {
-            String engine = settings.getComponentSettings(ScheduleModule.class).get("engine", "scheduler");
+            String engine = settings.getComponentSettings(ScheduleModule.class).get("engine", "ticker");
             switch (engine.toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT)) {
                 case "ticker"    : return TICKER;
                 case "scheduler" : return SCHEDULER;