While Riot Games has not yet publicly addressed the impending LCS player walkout, reports from behind the scenes suggest league officials are “furious” with this week’s unfolding situation, and have even begun threatening major fines and even the total loss of North American franchise slots for any organizations that fail to field League of Legends<\/em> rosters in Summer.<\/p>
In Riot’s eyes, this player walkout is only heaping further problems on an esports venture already nosediving in regards to viewership and revenue, independent journalist Richard Lewis reported on Substack<\/a> on May 30.<\/p>
Related: What is the LCS walkout and what does it all mean?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Following the formal warning, at least two LCS orgs immediately requested the opportunity to slot administrative staff into playing rosters for at least the first week of the 2023 LCS Summer Split\u2014which was originally set to begin at 2pm CT this coming Thursday, June 1<\/a>\u2014if not longer.<\/p>
That particular request has since been put on the backburner after Riot made the call to delay the LCS season opener at least two weeks<\/a>, to June 15.<\/p>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/golden-guardians-logo-on-the-lcs-grand-finals-stage.jpg?w=640\"){kind=logo}
The LCS walkout, led by the\u00a0LCSPA<\/a>, has been bubbling up behind the scenes for weeks now. The orchestrated movement was staged by an “overwhelming” amount of players after Riot\u2019s May 7 decision to\u00a0scrap mandatory participation for LCS orgs in the NACL<\/a>\u2014the \u2018second tier\u2019 of NA\u00a0League<\/em>.<\/p>
As of publication, all LCS stars have stood down from play.<\/p>
Beyond the private warnings to teams that they may lose their franchise spots, Riot has also suggested publicly any further delays to the competition could see the Summer Split canceled<\/a> and NA excluded from Worlds<\/a>. Dot Esports has contacted Riot officials on this particular suggestion but has received no reply.<\/p>
Keep up with further developments in Dot’s ongoing coverage hub<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
