LCS players are reportedly due to vote over if they are going to stage a walkout, in protest of recent changes to the North American Challengers League.
LCS players consider protest movements against North American Challengers League Changes
The contentious changes in question were revealed on May 12, when Riot Games announced that it would remove the rule providing that LCS teams are required to field rosters in the NACL - after the 10 organisations reportedly voted to demand that they do so.
In the fallout of that decision, seven LCS teams announced that they were dropping their NACL teams, thereby parting ways with the players and staff members.
In response to this decision, and the ensuing job losses, the regional players association the LCS Players Association (LCSPA) will reportedly hold a vote over if players are willing to host a walkout. That's according to a report from ReaderGrev, who states that the organisation will host a vote on Sunday (May 28) at 8:30 p.m. PT.
Should the walkout go ahead, it will be the among the first such actions in the history of modern esports.
LCSPA executive director Phil Aram revealed that the group had not been informed of Riot's decision ahead of time, describing it as a "significant breach of trust.”
“Riot lied to us,” said Aram. “And the outcome of that lie is that half our players’ jobs are gone overnight.”
In a Tweet from the official LCSPA account, the organisation stated that "During our numerous discussions with Riot, the LCSPA proposed numerous transition plans and plausible solutions to removing the NACL requirement. Riot choose to completely ignore them and jeopardize the future of the NACL and LCS."
The organisation has also posted its five asks of Riot Games ahead of the proposed vote. Their requests include the adoption of a Valorant-style promotion and relegation between the LCS and the NACL, for Riot to commit to a revenue pool for player salaries of $300k per NACL team per year, to allow LCS organisations to partner with affiliates for cost-sharing, for Riot to guarantee LCS minimum contracts for the 5 players who win the LCS Summer Finals each year and for the company to institute a 3/5's roster continuity rule in order to provide players on released NACL rosters with 1st priority in maintaining their slots in the upcoming NACL season if a majority continue to compete together.
The announcement follows a series of bad omens for the LCS, including the recent announcement that TSM is due to depart for another, yet unnamed tier-1 region.
Things are heating up in the LCS - both in and outside of the game itself. We'll be keeping you up to date on the developments right here on Luckbox. And in the meantime, remember that you can bet on League of Legends via our League of Legends match schedule - just make sure you claim your free 100% bonus first!
