Riot and League of Legends pros reach compromise ahead of planned walkout, North American play to resume next week
Riot Games has announced that the League Championship Series, the top-tier League of Legends pro league in North America, will return to action on June 14 following a two-week delay caused by a dispute with the LCS Players Association.
That dispute began in May, when Riot made changes to LCS rules that resulted in the elimination of most of the teams in the lower-tier North American Challengers League, a developmental league that launched in 2022. That put numerous players, coaches, and managers out of work, and led the Players Association to call for a walkout.
Players voted "overwhelmingly" to do so, but not immediately, in order to give negotiations a chance to work. Following that, Riot delayed the start of the 2023 summer season by two weeks, which it hoped «will give us time for productive dialogue between the LCSPA, teams, and the league.»
But it applied some pressure, too, warning that if an agreement wasn't reached in that time, it would cancel the entire summer season, leaving North American teams ineligible for the 2023 world championship.
Fortunately, that won't come to pass: Riot said today that the Summer Split, as it's formally known, will take place under a modified format beginning on June 14.
«Delaying Summer Split was not a decision we took lightly, but ultimately the dialogue between the league, the LCSPA, and teams provided the space to realign on shared goals for the future of the LCS and NACL,» global head of LoL esports Naz Aletaha said. «Building for the long-term sustainability and success of the LCS ecosystem is the win-condition for us all.»
The LCSPA said that both Riot and LCS teams made concessions during the negotiations, and credited players for «put[ting] their own jobs on the line to
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