With turmoil in the LCS, we answer the question in this article whether Riot will cancel LCS Summer Split 2023.
A storm is going on in North America as Riot and the LCS Player’s Association are at odds. This all started with Riot accepting the teams’ request to remove the NACL mandate. The mandate was an early rule that forced all LCS teams to have an NACL team. Riot accepted the request from the teams, and hell broke loose.
The LCSPA responded with criticism towards Riot about wrong messaging and the likes. This forced the LCSPA to make a vote to do a walkout, which overwhelmingly passed. That led to the players doing a strike the following Thursday, June 2nd, 2023, which was expected to be the start of the season.
Many rumors started floating around after that teams were trying to get some temporary players. That did not work out. Thus, Riot decided to postpone the split for two weeks, refute the demands from the LCSPA, and give an ultimatum.
The ultimatum is that if the LCS does not start in two weeks time, the Summer Split will be canceled. Also, no LCS teams will go to Worlds 2023. This sent shockwaves around social media, with fans surprised by Riot’s position.
Now the question remains if Riot will actually cancel the split. Let’s talk about the stakes, ramifications, and whether Riot will make the decision to cancel the split in one of the major regions of League of Legends esports.
Read More: League of Legends New Jungle Buff Sharing Explained
Reviewing the Situations of All Parties
Before talking about whether Riot will cancel the split, let’s get the general facts straight. Three parties are involved, and all three of them have to get something out of this, or this might be doomed. With that said, let’s divide this entire conversation by reviewing all three parties and their stances.
Players and the LCSPA
Starting with the players and the LCSPA, who are angered by the decisions of Riot. At this point, the players and the LCSPA have the public support to stand up against what they believe is wrong.
The LCSPA has called out the duplicitous nature of Riot and claims Riot told them otherwise about the NACL situation. Players and the LCSPA are in the right to retaliate against that. Before their vote, the LCSPA put out five demands, as shown below.
Riot has since refuted all those asks, and we are at a standstill. The LCSPA is holding strong and wants Riot to concede some of their asks. So, let’s jump to Riot’s side of things.
Riot
Public opinion is currently against Riot, and it is due to the fact that Riot made a critical mistake. The mistake is simply not being upfront with the LCSPA and handling the situation a lot better.
Abruptly dropping the NACL mandate caused many players to lose their spots, and it has caused a lot of turmoil. However, from Riot’s standpoint, they only honored what the teams asked of them. While Riot has to keep good relations with players, the same goes for them and the teams.
What was wrong here was Riot failing to balance both sides and favoring one over the other. In the last post from Riot, their stance is clear. They will do any sort of discussions in the two weeks break, and if nothing happens, the split is canceled.
What I am about to say may not please people, but there are some valid reasons for Riot not to delay the split any longer and just cancel it. Firstly, they can’t keep delaying the split indefinitely and expect to keep the Worlds 2023 schedule.
Secondly, it is a matter of finances at the end of the day. My guess would be that the LCS is not profitable enough even to take the hassle on this issue. Thus, Riot would be willing to cancel the split and work on the issue over the next few months.
Lastly, as much as we all hate to say it, Riot is the judge, jury, and executioner. Like it or not, you play by their rules or don’t play at all. That has been Riot’s stance for a while, and this is where we end up.
The teams are stuck between these two parties and, in my opinion, the biggest culprits.
Teams
While the discussion has been going on about players vs Riot, the teams are stuck in the middle. They should not be stuck in the middle as they cause the problem in the first place. Requesting to remove the mandate unanimously is what caused the whole problem.
Riot should indeed have never accepted it, but think of it as Riot honoring the request of their partners in the business. If the vote was not this overwhelming, I doubt Riot would remove the mandate this Summer.
The irony here is that teams wanted to walk out of the NACL because of money, but this will probably cost them more money. Fact is that teams in the LCS have not managed their balances right, and they brought this situation to the LCS.
Now the teams are stuck with Riot calling the shots and the players refusing to accept what Riot has to say thus far. Well, every action has consequences.
Will A Resolution Be Reached?
With a little backdrop into why Riot and the players are at odds, let’s speculate if a resolution will be reached. In short, there is no way to tell if a resolution will be reached. More than likely, one side has to concede, and we move on with the split.
Given past examples, Riot will likely not be the one doing that, and the LCSPA and players will need to figure out how much they truly want. Riot’s refuting all the points in a decent manner proves Riot is not willing to listen to most of the asks.
In fairness to Riot, these asks don’t really resolve the NACL issue. A Valorant-based promotion and relegation system is never going to happen, given teams had to spend 10+ million dollars to buy in. Guaranteeing the salary for LCS players who win Summer does not help the NACL. The revenue pool is a good idea, but it seems a bit much, considering there are some reports that NACL is not profitable.
Affiliates are allowed, according to Riot, so that is one avenue to look for teams in the LCS. The 3/5 continuity rule helps NACL to some extent, but it does not change the core issues with the NACL.
Honestly, the LCSPA might need to develop a better demand list and help reorganize the structure of the LCS, then come up with salaries and such, which are already hugely inflated.
The teams belong to this table and should also have some input. It is time for all parties of the LCS to look at their system and change parts that they can change instead of having unrealistic expectations.
The likely outcome is that some concession will be reached, and hopefully, that does happen without one side trying to fleece the other.
Will Riot Cancel LCS Summer Split 2023?
Currently, this is one of the trickiest questions surrounding the LCS. The new NACL format has been announced for Summer 2023; potential changes are coming in 2024. With the lockout, LCS is in trouble on multiple fronts.
Riot will cancel the split if it comes to that, so it will be up to the LCSPA to come to a compromise. Coming up with a more sustainable approach will go a long way. For now, I firmly believe that a deal will be reached, and we will have the LCS up and running in two weeks.
However, I would be a fool not to acknowledge that both sides could be unmovable from their positions, which will be the end of LCS for 2023. Hopefully, they will reach a solution, and we can put this whole thing to bed.
