People are not happy with Riot Games' decision about the North American amateur system.
Players in the North American League of Legends (LOL) esports league have recently voted to walk out of the upcoming summer split of League Championship Series (LCS) in protest to Riot Games' announcement regarding amateur teams for the tournament's summer season.
The upcoming LCR competition is scheduled to occur on June 1 and will last until Aug. 20, per LOLesports.
LCS Walkout Protest Details
The LCS Players Association has recently posted a statement on its official Twitter account that professional LOL players have overwhelmingly voted to walk out of the LCS' summer split - a decision that the players did not make lightly.
According to the statement, the players have had countless discussions and debates regarding what they would vote on, but as time went on, the decision to walk out of the competition to drive a point to Riot Games - that they want to play and compete above all else, and what the LOL developer did was unacceptable given their competitive nature.
"We stand at this impasse because actions were taken by Riot [Games] without prior communication or discussion with the LCS players," the statement adds. "The LCSPA sincerely hopes Riot will avert this walkout by joining us in the coming to have open and transparent discussions so... we can fogrge collaborative solutions to ensure the best futures for the LCS and the North American Challengers League (NACL)."
While the LCSPA didn't state when the walkout will take place, it would likely happen at the upcoming LCS summer split, which will be held on June 1.
The action the statement was referring to was Riot's decision to no longer require franchisees to field amateur teams to enter the LCR, cutting off "an important development pipeline" for amateur players who want to compete in the competition, per The Verge.
The walkout wasn't a spontaneous decision; franchises first asked Riot Games to drop its newly announced requirement, while the LCSPA called for creating a structured amateur competition, emphasizing the importance of the amateur teams in the nurturing of pro-LOL players.
However, Riot didn't do anything to address the LCSPA and franchises' concerns, which led to five of the ten teams in the LCS withdrawing their participation in the NACL this coming summer.
Riot has yet to officially address the walkout's announcement.
Which Teams Are Not Participating in the LCS?
Of the ten teams that usually participate in the NACL, five of them will not be participating in the upcoming event - 100 Thieves, Cloud9, Dignitas, Golden Guardians, and NRG. Meanwhile, TSM and Immortals wouldn't be participating in the event due to them not having any teams to enter the competition.
Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, and FlyQuest are the only ones to have retained their NACL teams, though they may not see action if Riot Games won't make any changes to its decisions, per esports.net.
