On November 5, the grand final of the League of Legends World Championship will take place in San Francisco. For all fans who cannot be there in person, the Worlds will be streamed live by 5 streamers in 4 languages. However, not everyone is happy with Riot’s selection of co-streamers and expresses strong criticism.
Which streamers are involved? As Riot announced on November 1, 5 streamers will cover the Worlds in 4 different languages: Feng “Rita” Yu in Chinese, “Sangho” and “MinGyo” in Korean, Ibai Llanos in Spanish and “Sykkuno” in English.
However, especially the choice of Sykkuno has caused much discontent among fans and streamers of LoL. They apparently think that others would have deserved the role more.
Sykkuno’s selection “disappointing and disrespectful”
Why are people upset? After the selection of co-streamers was announced on Twitter on November 1, criticism quickly poured in. Especially the choice of YouTuber Sykkuno apparently does not sit well with many.
LoL commentator and former professional player Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont shared his opinion in a separate post on Twitter. He described it as a “huge slap in the face” for all content creators in LoL who are passionately involved in the e-sports scene.
Micaiyla, the partner of perhaps the most famous troll in LoL, Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp and herself a long-time member of the community, called the selection “disappointing and disrespectful”. Instead, the spot of Sykkuno should have gone to someone who primarily streams LoL (via Twitter).
Many accused Riot of wanting to reach a broader audience with their selection and neglecting the LoL community in the process. The “pile of money” that Riot would pay to the streamers should instead be invested in e-sports, said a Twitter user (via Twitter).
Sykkuno defends himself, says it’s not about the money
How does Sykkuno respond? In a stream on November 1, Sykkuno reacted to the criticism. The YouTuber said he could understand why many people were dissatisfied, but wanted to provide a bit more context.
You can watch Sykkuno’s response here in English:
This is how the offer came about: Sykkuno explained that Riot contacted him and asked if he would like to watch and stream the Worlds. For him, it just sounded like fun; he did not even know that it was such a big deal for some.
This is how Sykkuno views the critics: For Sykkuno, the critics fall into 3 categories: people who are angry at Riot, people who are angry at him because they don’t like him, and people who are angry because they would like to stream the Worlds themselves.
Regarding the first and last groups, Sykkuno showed some understanding. However, he explained that the latter should simply say that they want to stream the Worlds without dragging him into it.
Regarding the people in the second group, Sykkuno said he couldn’t do much; they would always be angry, no matter what he does.
The YouTuber emphasized, however, that money played no role in his agreement:
Do you know how many zeros were in the offer? Do you know how many zeros they offered me? They offered me one zero, because I’m doing it for free… that’s exactly one zero.
Sykkuno
The YouTuber actually didn’t want to say much more about the situation. He is still looking forward to the Worlds and hopes his fans will also have fun with it.
What do you think of the selection of co-streamers? Would you rather have seen a Tyler1 on the list? Who would you wish for as a German co-streamer? Feel free to leave us a comment with your opinion.
Also taking part in the Worlds 2022 is the legendary South Korean professional Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok:
LoL: Normal people see Faker’s screen during a World Cup match – can’t handle it
