In League of Legends the US professionals called for a strike to give more weight to their demands to Riot Games. But Riot Games held the upper hand and threatened to cancel the season entirely in the LCS. Now there is some agreement. The LoL season in the US will now start on June 14.
What was the dispute about?
- In the US there was an “Academy League”, where professional teams had to set up “second teams” where they – in theory – should let young talents play. However, the system did not really work: hardly anyone watched the games, only a few talents made it up, as Twitch streamer Tyler1 explained loudly.
- This system has now been ended by Riot Games and replaced with a new 2nd league, the NACL. Teams no longer need to provide an academy team.
- This caused an outcry among the professionals: they saw jobs endangered and feared there would now be even less support from Riot Games.
Professionals Strike Back, Riot Hits Harder
This is what the professionals demanded: The players’ union of US professionals made 5 demands on Riot Games: Essentially, they wanted Riot Games to subsidize the 2nd league and guarantee players more job security.
To emphasize their demands, they went on strike and simply did not play at the start of the 1st league, the LCS.
This was Riot Games’ response: They clearly said “No”. It was stated that a second league could not be subsidized to such an extent. They understood the problems and the crisis in esports, but if the professionals did not play within 2 weeks, the season would have to be canceled, and then no team from the USA would go to the Worlds.
Players’ Union Finds it “Monumental” – Players Not So Much
This is now the compromise: Riot Games and the players have agreed on a compromise. The league now starts on June 14, as Riot Games wanted.
In principle, Riot Games did not fully meet any of the players’ demands, but there are some soft assurances and compromise decisions that have been made to strengthen the 2nd league.
The players’ union itself emphasizes success, stating that 90% of the players joined the strike. This is historic. The solidarity of the professionals with the amateurs is “monumental.”
However, they also admit to having achieved only a partial success. They will continue to work on it (via kotaku).
“Riot Held the Upper Hand”
Many fans on reddit view the promises critically:
One user says: “So the requirement to form an academy team is still gone and none of the people who lost their jobs will get them back, right? And nothing here helps the scene to remain stable in the long term?”
The reddit user harshly concludes: the players’ union is incompetent.
In response, he is told: “What are you talking about? Riot held the upper hand. They should be grateful they got anything at all.”
This is what lies behind it: Indeed, “They should be happy they got something” seems to be the prevailing viewpoint. After Riot Games threatened to cancel the league entirely, it was clear that the players would give in.
Because Riot Games has three professional scenes in China, South Korea, and Europe that function much better than the one in North America – in Germany we had fantastic games in the third league last year. Riot Games thus has alternatives and could forgo the LCS for half a year to make a statement.
The players in North America, however, have no big alternative: if they cannot play for half a year and the Worlds are also out, that would probably be existentially threatening.
Ultimately, the strike had to turn out this way.
The “solidarity” of the players for the amateurs was not quite so solid:
LoL players strike for their rights – But one of the most famous and richest becomes a traitor
