Richard Lewis has learned details about possible anti-strike measures by Riot and LCS organisations and shares them with he community. According to the report, TSM would seriously consider bringing Co-Owner Andy “Reginald” Dinh out of his 10-year retirement to play for TSM in the LCS.
Journalist Richard Lewis has revealed some details about the measures LCS organisations and Riot Games are considering to counter the LCSPA strike. In case you didn’t catch it, players in the North American LoL League have called for a strike in order to get Riot to make changes to the league system. According to the Journalist’s sources, one of the measures could be the return of TSM Reginald.
Preventing the strike somehow
After Riot removed the mandatory participation of LCS orgas in the NACL, seven out of ten teams opted out of the academy league. As a result, the Players Association (LCSPA) made five demands to Riot and decided to strike at the start of the LCS Summer Split. These demands were all rejected by Riot, which is partly understandable. The top teams need to fill the empty slots in their lineups within two weeks, so they are now looking for replacement players to break the strike.
— LCS Players Association (@NALCSPA) May 29, 2023
Lewis claims they have offered up to $4,000 per game. Another idea to mitigate the impact of the strike was to allow employees to participate in the LCS to make the best of the situation.
Travis Gadfford confirming that Riot is suspending all rank requirements for potential players during the LCS Walkout
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A request has been sent to Riot, but whether they’ll wave it through we don’t know yet and frankly it’s hard to imagine, because Riot wants to deliver first class play in the LCS. That’s not really the case with staff as substitutes.
Fines for missed games
This all comes at a bad time for Riot, as the LCS is already struggling and struggling with declining viewership. As is well known, fines usually work wonders in such matters and so Riot, in their anger over the situation, have threatened such fines. The fines will be imposed on teams that are unable to field an LCS team and will recur each time they are unable to do so. Each LCS team has been told that they must have players available for the matches, no matter who they are.
The Mastercard Presale and General On-Sale for 2023 LCS Championship Weekend in Newark, NJ will be delayed until further notice.
Additionally, fans who purchased tickets to week one or two of the 2023 Summer Split at Riot Games Arena will be refunded. pic.twitter.com/CgOhDydHgE
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) May 31, 2023
They have also been told that they will also be fined if they publicly express support for the strike. This is what an anonymous source claims. What makes the teams despair is the fact that Riot has said that they will re-evaluate a team’s eligibility for membership of the league if they do not field a team. The report was released just before Riot Games announced it was postponing the summer split and also ticket sales for LCS 2023 in order to negotiate with the players’ union.
What’s next?
These threats from Riot already sound a bit more serious and could have crazy consequences for the LCS. If the organisations show solidarity with their players, the consequence would probably be expulsion from the league in the long run. No one knows what will happen in the coming weeks, but one can really only hope that both sides try to find a compromise. After all, there is no League without players and no League without Riot.