OfflineTV’s founding member and former North American pro League of Legends player William “Scarra” Li predicted the issues the LCS is facing now—over 10 years ago.
Scarra talked about how Riot Games controlling everything in terms of League’s esports scene won’t be beneficial for the players in the long run, in an interview with Travis Gafford which resurfaced on Reddit on May 31. The interview itself took place in August 2012, with the pro player talking about the beginning of NA LCS season 3, his life, and his play style.
“Eventually everything is gonna be controlled by Riot,” Scarra said. He added pros’ lives might drastically change “depending on whether or not Riot likes them or not, or just approves of what they do or not.”
Scarra also pointed out he and presumably other pros had already conducted talks with Riot about them controlling a large part of the ecosystem back then, and the company reassured them not to worry, and that it will be upheld active communication with the pros.
“Sometimes it makes me feel… a little bit uncomfortable knowing that like my entire professional career as a pro gamer comes out to whether or not… I don’t fall on Riot’s bad side.” Afterward, Scarra also brought up opinions about how Riot itself “is artificially inflating the competitive scene,” and “not allowing natural growth.”
Despite these opinions being more than 10 years old, it feels like they apply just as well to today’s turmoil with LCSPA, LCS, and Riot Games. The issues started after Riot confirmed that having an NACL roster is no longer mandatory on May 12, which resulted in the majority of LCS teams dropping their NACL rosters.
Currently, the 2023 LCS Summer Split is in threat of jeopardy, after LCSPA players decided to stage a walkout on May 28, which was supposedly prepared to take place on June 1 and 2, when the first week of the Split had been originally scheduled. Riot, however, delayed the start of the split due to the walkout on May 30, with the possibility of canceling the whole split as a whole. As a result, ticket sales for the LCS Championship finals have also been delayed.
As of now, it’s tough to predict the outcomes of the situation, and the whole League community is on the edge of its seat, waiting for a satisfying outcome for both the competition and pro players.
