After a turbulent start to the split and the year, the 2023 LCS season has finally come to a close. Ahead of the 2023 World Championship, Riot will have to make do without one iconic caster.
Ahead of the 2023 season, popular LCS host James 'Dash' Pattinson announced that he will no longer be working as a host for the North American league. This decision was taken by the LCS management and seemingly one-sided, as multiple sources reported that he was not given the chance to negotiate. Fans were not happy about the decision, but the LCS rolled with it anyway.
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Subsequently, it was announced that the role of the LCS host will be split between multiple broadcast members. This role has mostly been filled by Dash's caster colleague Mark 'MarkZ' Zimmerman. While MarkZ played his part in maintaining the LCS broadcast's high quality, there was still something missing. It simply was not the same without Dash.
LCS Championship Finals: Dash Returns For The Last Time
One final time
— James Dash (@JamesDash) August 20, 2023
For the 2023 LCS Championship Finals, Dash made his final return to the LCS stage. He hosted the final day of Summer playoffs, where NRG upset Cloud9 3-1 to take their first ever LCS title. His one-off return was more than enough to convince the audience that something is going to be missing in the future.
After joining the LCS in 2014, Dash would quickly make himself a name as the LCS host. Amidst countless changes in personnell, he was the one constant that held the LCS broadcast together. The community is singing their praises too, acknowledging his unique skill set as a host that, in the LoL esports universe, is only rivalled by his LEC counterpart, Eefje 'sjokz' Depoortere.
Comment by u/duckcane from discussion Dash is likely done hosting LCS in leagueoflegends
After LCS Exit: What Is Next For Dash?
With the LCS season over, the next big tournament for North American broadcast talent will be the 2023 World Championship. The likelyhood of Dash being part of the broadcast team is very low, considering he has barely had any chance to contribute to the LCS broadcast this season.
So far, he has not declared any plans on where to go next. At the young age of 32 years, his career in esports obviously is nowhere near over. One possibility may be a shift to VALORANT Esports, where his former LCS caster colleague Rivington 'Riv' Bisland III has already found a new home in the VCT Americas League.
Future involvements aside: the LCS Championship Finals were a send-off worthy of a broadcast member like Dash. Not only he had to hold back tears in the final seconds of the broadcast when he contemplated his decade-long involvement with the LCS – the other casters and analysts at the desk, especially Emily Rand, seemed very sentimental over his farewell too.