The professional North American League of Legends scene is a turmoil. The Announcement of Riot Games to scrap the Challenger League entails resistance by the North American Players Association (LCSPA). ADC-veteran Doublelift shared his opinion on the situation in a YouTube video.
The legendary League of Legends ADC Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng recently shared his opinion on the situation in the North American professional scene. In a 20-minute long YouTube-Video, Doublelift talked about the recent LCS-Walkout and the demands of the LCS Players Association (LSCPA). The whole situation was created after the announcement of Riot Games to scrap the rule, that North American pro-teams need to have an Academy team as well.
Doublelift: Tier 2 Scene Was "Dogshit"
Right at the start of his video, Doublelift presented his opinion on the structure and situation of the tier 2 environment. In his view, the whole thing was "dogshit". He stated that the problem was, that even the worst players were getting $70,000, while the scene had almost no viewers. And that the LCS Teams were forced by Riot Games to participate in the Challenger League.
There is no competitive integrity in forcing teams to field rosters, that they don't care about or want. Because they know that the bottom line is, that they are not gonna make any money on it. They are not incentivized to care about it, because there is nothing [...]
His View On The Demands Of The LCSPA
The NA-legend stated that he was a little bit disappointed by the first demands of the Players Association, because he felt, that they were either unreasonable or not the right way to kick off negotiations with Riot Games. The LCSPA demanded a "Valorant Style" promotion- and relegation-system between the LCS and the NACL. Additionally, Riot Games should commit $300k per NACL Team for player salaries. Also, LCS orgs should be allowed to partner with affiliates for cast sharing reasons.
LCSPA's idea to expand the LCS with two more teams was rejected by Doublelift also. All in all, Doubleliftft stated that these demands were not reasonable at all and would further dilute the value of the league.
Why He Voted "Yes" In The LCS Walkout
In his video, Doublelift explained his thoughts behind his decision to vote for an LCS Walkout. He stated, that he didn't vote "yes" because he stood behind the demands of the LCSPA, it was rather a way to get Riot into supporting the Tier 2 scene.
What we are asking for isn't even really that crazy. We want Riot to support the Tier 2 scene in a reasonable way. [...] Riot shouldn't be able to make changes like that, that kills people jobs with no notice and no discussion. That's why we took a stand, and that's just a few of the reasons why a majority voted yes.
Doublelifts Conclusion On The Situation
He believes that there has to be a new system for the Tier 2 scene, that works more like a free market. Where Teams can be made out of nowhere, so that teams can participate that are actively seeking to compete in the lower league and not be forced to be in there.