LCS fans fear league may be “dying” as Riot reportedly votes to cut teams
Reece Martinez/Riot GamesVeteran, a trusted member of the League community, claimed that multiple sources have confirmed Riot will soon be holding a vote to determine whether the LCS goes from 10 teams down to 8. Even pros who have been reported to be recently signed are scared of these possible changes.
It’s been a busy off-season in the LCS, with almost every team in the league drastically changing its roster, with many confirmed changes happening before Worlds 2023 even wraps up. Team owners wasted no time trying to put together the best roster they could.
However, it appears that there may not be as many spots open as initially thought.
VeteranEU, an experienced caster, coach, and, as the name would imply, veteran within the League of Legends scene claimed that the LCS may be downsizing from 10 teams to 8. The response has been almost immediate panic from fans and even players, with many wondering if their jobs are secure.
LCS pros and fans worried for the future amid downsizing reports
Year over year viewership in the LCS has been lacking since 2020, with the most recent final having the lowest viewership yet on a downward trend for North American League of Legends.
And, while NRG had the deepest run out of any Western team at Worlds 2023 this year, one team’s accomplishments can’t make up for a league that seems to be, in many ways, on the decline.
According to Veteran’s sources, this has resulted in the LCS possibly downsizing ahead of the 2024 season, possibly invalidating many roster moves and leaving several players teamless and support staff out of a job if the report comes to fruition.
It’s important to approach this issue with a grain of salt considering that this vote isn’t set in stone. Rather, it’s something Riot is considering that’ll be decided upon soon. However, this has struck immediate concern into LCS pros, especially those who were going to finally get their chance to compete after years in the tier 2 league.
Srtty is a player who’s been stuck in Academy/the NACL for years who, according to a report from Sheep Esports, was finally going to get his chance to play, may be without a job if Evil Geniuses is one of the teams cut.
His response of immediate panic to the initial report is disheartening.
Srtty made multiple tweets about the situation. There was also a sarcastic tweet from former DSG member Young as the report began circulating. Even minutes after the reports began circulating, players who had a good chance of getting their true LCS debut are worried for their livelihoods.
David Szajnuk, a League content creator and very active community member, claimed that he learned of the news around an hour and a half before Veteran broke it and added that he didn’t want to know in the first place.
Palafox, the most recent LCS title holder as NRG’s mid laner, responded by saying, “Franchising was a mistake….” With so many LCS pros speaking out in response to the initial news, it’s hard to deny the distinct possibility that many will lose their jobs as the LCS makes a move to cut costs and keep the best teams in the league.
General sentiment is that, while the LCS certainly won’t just poof out of existence and die, that the downward trend is worrying and could lead to the death of the league if things don’t turn around.
As for which teams will be out, Golden Guardians losing many of their players amid the ongoing rostermania reports makes them a strong candidate. However, every other team in the LCS has been reported to sign or retain at least one player, meaning at least one team would be dropping players who were reportedly contracted with them for 2024 if the LCS really does cut down on the number of teams in the league.
This story is developing…