In League of Legends , 2 of the best mid-laners in the western world for 2022 can no longer find a new team. Their teams do not want to take them on anymore, but they still want so much money for the highly-paid professionals that no team is willing to jump in and pay the high transfer fees. An analyst explains the problem.
Which players are involved?
- The Dane Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen (26, title image) is a mid-laner for Team Liquid and has been playing there since November 2018. At 25, he allegedly signed a contract worth 4.2 million euros in 2020, which is supposed to last for another 3 years.
- The Belgian Yasin “Nisqy” Dinçer (23) has been with Fnatic since 2020. He is still under contract until 2023.
Jensen stated in a stream on November 7 that he might not play in 2022. This has been increasingly apparent since then.
What is the problem for the two players?
Both players have publicly stated that they probably will not have a team for 2022 and will not play professionally in LoL.
- Jensen has the problem that his team has signed Bjergsen for 2022, the probably most famous LoL player in the USA. He plays exclusively in the midlane. Apparently, there is no place for Jensen in the new team. But Team Liquid likely does not want to let their midlane star Jensen go for “free.”
- Nisqy, on the other hand, apparently wants or is supposed to leave Fnatic. They had a traumatic experience at the LoL Worlds in 2021. However, because he still has a long contract, his team is apparently demanding a transfer fee. The sum is so high that interested parties have already declined and the negotiations have fallen through. It was originally thought that Nisqy would move to Cloud 9 as a replacement for Perkz, but they have now put their top laner Fudge in the midlane.
Jensen and Nisqy are among the 10 best mid-laners in the west
This is what an analyst says about the situation: The website Inven spoke with LoL analyst Isaac “Azael” Cummings about the situation where experienced and established LoL professionals like Jensen and Nisqy are left without a team for 2022.
He says both players deserve a spot in the LCS or LEC. There are 20 starting spots in the midlane in the western professional leagues. Jensen and Nisqy are among the top 10 in that position. They should be allowed to play for someone:
“Contracts have gotten bigger and bigger. We see these hefty transfer fees. I think this has led some teams and players to inflate their transfer fees to unreasonable heights. And now, as a result, many players cannot find teams because no one wants to spend that much money on them.
Azael
Azael says the transfer fee depends on supply and demand. One can say, “Hey, the market value for the player is X million US dollars.” But if no one is willing to pay the price, then it is no longer the market value.
What happens next? Azael believes there is currently a downward correction taking place. One possibility he sees would be a “salary cap” so that the LoL leagues can sustain themselves in the long run. That is ultimately the goal. Such a discussion is already taking place in China and could also affect other LoL leagues.
This “correction” of transfer fees downwards apparently already took place with G2 Esports. They reportedly sold top laner Wunder for a third of the price they initially wanted:
LoL: Fnatic loses its mega-talent and leadership player – buys a Wunder cheaply
