Riot threatens to cancel the entire League of Legends summer season in North America if a deal with players isn't made
Riot Games has delayed the start of the League Championship Series summer season by two weeks in order to enable negotiation with the LCS Players Association over recent rule changes. But it has also threatened to cancel the entire season completely if an agreement can't be reached within that timeframe.
The labor unrest began earlier this month after Riot announced rule changes that resulted in most teams in the LCS—the top-tier League of Legends pro league in North America—dropping their lower-tier North American Challenger League rosters, putting as many as 70 players, coaches, and managers out of work. In response, the Players Association voted «overwhelmingly» in favor of a walkout, although not immediately: Instead, it expressed hope that Riot would avert the strike «by joining us in the coming days to have open and transparent discussions.»
Riot has agreed, to an extent. After announcing a plan to start LCS play on schedule even in the event of a strike, it has now opted to delay the start of the season by two weeks.
«Hopefully, this two-week window will give us time for productive dialogue between the LCSPA, teams, and the league and then resume LCS competition this summer,» Riot said in the most recent LCS update. «The LCS will not be penalizing the teams for not fielding their rosters during this two-week period to allow everyone space to focus on constructive dialogue. We are doing our best to ensure LCS employees, contractors, and others supporting the LCS are not negatively impacted by the delay.»
But Riot is also made very clear that it's ready to play hardball: If an agreement isn't reached within that two week window, Riot said it's prepared to cancel the summer season entirely—and if the summer season is
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