Riot Games announced major structural changes coming to the 2018 NA LCS.

The main points of the NA LCS League Evolution are: permanent partnership with approved teams, shared revenue, and Player’s Association. In the wake of these monumental changes, various communities all around the world actively voiced their opinions, including communities in Korea, the home of LCK.

Korean fans were generally positive towards the increased motivational factor due to player welfare and minimum salary as well as fostering long-term development of players from a team’s perspective, instead of the current ineffective relegation system. On the other hand, some people expressed concerns about the deterioration of league quality and the possible barrier for new teams that may arise from a generous buffer for struggling teams and limited player pool.

Here’s the gist of how Korean communities responded to each point in the NA LCS changes.

▣ Absence of relegation system

Challenger series are finished. I don’t know if new teams will have what it takes to be competitive even if a spot opens up in the premier league.

- It’s not that Challenger series are done for, but League is becoming more like professional sports. If you have the skill, you could be a sub for one of the premiere teams. The only difference is that players will replace other players, instead of teams replacing other teams.

- Soccer leagues still maintain a relegation system for teams. Will NA’s performance be okay when it desperately needs to step up its game?

- The MLB, NBA, and NFL all operate with region-based teams. Esports don’t have the same crowd-pulling power or home stadiums, so it won’t be easy to franchise esports teams. It’s a sister team system at its core, but didn’t Riot get rid of that in the past? I’m a bit baffled that they’re eating their words.

It’s a standard procedure for professional sports in the US. Each team will develop new talents when Academy League replaces Challenger series.

- It’s good news for current players, but wouldn’t their performance on the international stage suffer?

- The Esports talent pool is too small to properly compare LoL to other sports.

The current relegation system didn’t do its job because owners could sell their spots after getting promoted to premier leagues. I think we’ll see a league system that prioritizes individual talent over teamwork.

- NA’s problem has always been teamwork and strategy, not individual skill.

It’ll be harder to see super rookie players because there isn’t enough opportunities to properly vet new talents without Challenger series. As long as you can avoid being 9th and 10th place, there’s little incentive to sign new players.

- Those who get called-up will be a part of the LCS, but it’ll be impossible for teams with good teamwork to move up. Maybe current LCS players will add a provision in their contracts that saves them from playing in Challengers?

- They’re pushing teams to stabilize financially and to cultivate talents because of the limited player pool. I’m not sure Academy League can handle such a task though.

I think Academy League won’t be very useful. It’ll be difficult for new teams to form, and a player will just join an existing one. Besides deteriorating performances, players may be put on sub after a few slumps, making their life span even shorter.

- How do new teams move up to the LCS when an existing team loses its spot? I feel like this system makes it difficult for new teams to join the LCS once the criteria is set for the 10 originally selected teams.

Do NA teams just want to keep being bystanders on international stages?

- At least they’ll have a stable stream of money coming in. After all, professional sports are about the bottom line.

I think this plan is too far-sighted. They wouldn’t have come up with this system unless they were certain that LoL will be what it is now for the next 10 years.

- Riot always has had long-term goals in mind. I think they want to service LoL over 10s of years. If that’s the case, they will have a steady revenue without releasing new games.

How long is 8 seasons?

- About 4 years.

- Doesn’t placing at the bottom of the league 5 times over 8 seasons seem practically impossible? I believe it’ll inevitably lower the quality of LCS.

- There’s no denying that penalties are pretty lenient.


▣ Minimum player salary and revenue sharing

Good teams will earn more money and can bring in more talents. The rich getting richer.

- Shouldn’t better players and teams earn more money? If money is distributed equally, it’ll instantly devolve into a mess where no one has any motivation to compete or improve.

- There’s always been a big disparity between top-earning teams and those in the bottom in any sports. I don’t think it takes the fun away from a sport even if that’s the case.

- If you like communism, you can move to a country a little bit north of here.

Good teams are already doing well financially. Don’t you think there will be an influx of new players because middle and lower teams will be more financially stable?

It’ll be pretty easy to sign capable players in LCK when the minimum salary is set to $75,000, not to mention having multiple players in a premiere and Challenger team to swap at any time.

- Teams will be more deliberate in their selection process as the salary increases.

Do players in teams like EnVyUs get the same minimum salary? I think that’s a problem.

- They probably won’t be selected as permanent partners.

Shouldn’t they also lift the limit on the maximum number of foreign players on a team? NA LCS has the money but not the talent pool.

- NA not only has a small talent pool, but also lacks a professional mindset.

- There’s a reason professional sports have a limit on the number of foreign players. They want to grow the NA LoL scene, instead of having Korean teams backed by NA take trophies.

- They probably won’t lift the limit since there’s already a precedent of Korean dominance in StarCraft 2.

- I think they need to invest more in youth systems instead of lifting the limit.

More players will be profiting from the minimum salary change, compared to their actual worth. Like Goldenglue, for example.

- We may get to see a dream team made up of those players in one place.

▣ Establishment of the Player’s Association

There will be many positive aspects. Likes!

Riot has done something that players find difficult to do. Well done.

I’m jealous. I hope we have the capacity to adopt that kind of system.

- It does not matter with the capacity. It’s just the difference between Riot and Korean game companies.

- We also had a time when Starcraft pro players like SlayerS_’BoxeR’ tried to make such a thing, but failed.

- KeSPA should be the one leading the role of doing this but they are not.

They are so different to those who speak words of developing eSports without any action. It is such a shame that we are behind NA where eSports started late but is way ahead in civil and work rights.

Will the association always take a positive role? I am worried they might bring about the risk of players’ slowdown.

- It is not impossible, but players’ rights and interests should be assured nonetheless.

Sponsors and coaches who consider players as a source of money should be gone for good.

- Players who contribute to the success of the league should speak up. Noah Whinston of Immortals had an interview for this purpose. But in South Korea, the self-confidence is so high in the international league with the notion that LCK is the best, while the rights of players in the league are being ignored.