'League of Legends' pros could stage a walkout to protect the esport's minor leagues

engadget.com:

Pro League of Legends players may hold a walkout in protest of changes made by the game's publisher, Riot, to the esport's minor leagues. All 50 players in the League Championship Series (LCS), the highest level of LoL esports in North America, will reportedly vote this weekend on a potential walkout. If the walkout goes ahead, it would be among the first major instances of collective action in high-level esports.

The vote will reportedly take place a few days before the start of the LCS Summer Split. That's one of the two annual competitive LCS seasons and the pathway for North American teams to qualify for the LoL World Championship. “If we have 26 out of 50 of the LCS [players] willing to do something, I can tell you right now, the league's not running,” LCS Players Association (LCSPA) executive director Phil Aram told journalist Mikhail Klimentov, who was first to report on the vote.

The issue stems from a decision that Riot announced earlier this month to no longer require LCS teams to field a team in an official feeder league. The company claimed LCS teams asked it to drop the obligation "to unlock more operational and financial flexibility." Riot agreed in order to "support the continued, long-term success of the teams and the professional esports ecosystem in North America."

Although three LCS teams have committed to continue fielding a team in the North American Challengers League (NACL), most said they were dropping their developmental rosters. That didn't sit well with the LCSPA, a group run by and for pros to offer them "counsel, programs, information and support."

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