Michael Decker

@LEC_Wooloo Only Riot knows the exact numbers, but I can’t see how the money saved from switching to online play outweighs the devaluation of the entire product for sponsors and fans alike.

The arena in Berlin doesn't just benefit the 200 in-person fans: - It showcases a professional product to newer viewers and to potential sponsors - It improves the product with crowd reactions, player walkouts (yes rare in lol), in-person interviews - Enables in-person sponsorship activations - Tests players on-stage (this has been an issue for several players in the past, and is needed practice for internationals) - Player reactions from different angles Personally, I would understand if the LEC moves online, it'd save a lost of costs to Riot. Berlin is also not the ideal city to host an arena. But let's not pretend it is useless for the product, if Riot keep the arena, it's good news for the esport and does not prevent roadshows. LEC being played online would feel like a massive setback and a terrible message for external parties.

@Sheep_Esports Well, RIOT hasn’t always had the best understanding of what really matters most to fans. So I’m not particularly excited about them experimenting with the LEC the way they’ve been teasing.

“The #LEC will continue to be played primarily at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin in 2027.” — Max Schmidt, Director of LoL Esports EMEA, responds to rumors of the LEC going online in 2027 “We will continue to evaluate and evolve our production approach, including formats like Roadtrips, select no-audience match days, and the potential for limited online play, to focus our efforts on the parts of the experience that matter most to fans.” Via The Esports Radar

Well, RIOT hasn’t always had the best understanding of what really matters most to fans. So I’m not particularly excited about them experimenting with the #LEC the way they’ve been teasing.

@ondrejbaca These would be amazing. DreamHack had some of the most iconic SC2 matches back in the day – always fantastic events. And when it comes to Quake: I really miss having a 1v1 arena shooter in tier 1 esports.

@targetdecker Only StarCraft and Quake missing! ♥️But always great, open brackets and DreamHack LAN = core esports 🫡

A LAN with multiple games and tournaments, open brackets, and DreamHack branding on top – this feels like esports from 20 years ago. Love it.

@Kevin_Hitt Yes. And I wouldn’t be surprised if player salaries stayed the same even after switching to online matches - which would devalue almost everything about the league. Hard to see how this suddenly becomes the one move that makes the LEC ecosystem sustainable.

@targetdecker Player salaries are still inflated Covid era salaries putting most if not all orgs in the red.

So we’d rather cut costs by shutting down studio matches than by reducing inflated player salaries? Crazy.

⚫️🔴 Wir suchen Verstärkung! Du möchtest mit vollem Einsatz die Zukunft einer der führenden E-Sports-Organisationen in Deutschland, mit sechs gewonnen Deutschen Meisterschaften, diversen internationalen Titeln und mehr als 18.000 Social-Media-Followern mitgestalten? Dann suchen wir genau dich! ⚫️ Projektleiter (Chief Operating Officer, COO) (m/w/d) Arbeitsumfang: freie Zeiteinteilung Arbeitsort: Home Office Beschreibung: Als Projektleiter (COO) übernimmst du die operative Leitung von Entropy Gaming und treibst das Projekt entscheidend voran. Du erhältst viel Gestaltungsspielraum und führst ein motiviertes Team in Management und Projektleitung. 🔴 Sportliche Leitung (Chief Gaming Officer, CGO) (m/w/d) Arbeitsumfang: freie Zeiteinteilung Arbeitsort: Home Office Beschreibung: Als Chief Gaming Officer (CGO) übernimmst du die Gesamtverantwortung für alle Teams bei Entropy Gaming. Du beobachtest den Markt, identifizierst vielversprechende Spieler und Teams und koordinierst Verpflichtungen sowie Transfers. Gleichzeitig stellst du sicher, dass unsere Teams und Spieler bestmöglich arbeiten können, um ihr volles Leistungspotenzial zu entfalten. ➡️ Interesse? Dann freuen wir uns auf deine Bewerbung per Discord DM an mdecker oder über das Ticketsystem auf unserem Discord-Server. Sende uns bitte einen kurzen, aussagekräftigen Text mit Bezug zur ausgeschriebenen Tätigkeit und warum du für die Aufgabe geeignet bist. Ein separater Lebenslauf ist nicht nötig.

These kinds of very strict age restrictions are horrible for esports. At 18, you either already need to be at the very top or at least show clear talent that you can reach it in your early 20s. Only starting at that age makes it pretty much impossible to go pro.

@Sheep_Esports That’s horrible for esports. At 18, you either already need to be at the very top or at least show clear talent that you can reach it in your early 20s. Starting at 18 makes it pretty much impossible to go pro.

FUR Tatu 🇧🇷 on Brazilian age restrictions in gaming: "I started playing LoL at 6 years old, and I got into the competitive scene at 15 A lot of the person I am today, most of the friends I made and still have to this day, are people I met as a kid in games Starting on the 17th, LoL will be banned for anyone under 18 because of the Felca Law and the prohibition of loot boxes for minors There are definitely smarter ways to handle that part of the law Separate accounts for minors where that content isn't available, and other less extreme approaches, would certainly be more beneficial for everyone"

@RyanAtRBM Well, SEO in general isn’t a bad thing, but they clearly tried to abuse the system by covering up their gambling and betting content with esports news – and were rightfully punished for it.

always good when you prioritize seo at any cost over actual ground work

The current landscape in CS2 offers plenty of opportunities for teams to climb their way up. However, the actual step from T2 to T1 is still huge. Renowned teams such as ENCE, who have the expectation to be in T1, still have to invest a substantial amount of money into their teams if they don’t want to gamble on unknown players – which they usually can’t do as easily due to sponsor expectations.

I'm an ENCE fan, they were the traiblazers when it comes to being smart about player acquisitions and doing more with less But saying "the current ecosystem has made it increasingly difficult for orgs like ours to reach highest level of international CS" is simply not true

@Kevin_Hitt Esports journalism has always been about passion, not about making a lot of money. I’m happy for any journalist who can make a living from it, but it has repeatedly proven to be the wrong business for investors or big companies looking to make a quick buck with news websites.

#Esports Journalism is on life support. And greedy AI loving boards and CEOs are pulling the plug.

It’s a shame what happened to Esports Insider. Flooding the website with gambling content was definitely the first nail in the coffin of what used to be an excellent news outlet.

@theesportsradar What a shame. Flooding the website with gambling content was definitely the first nail in the coffin of what used to be an excellent news outlet.

Esports Insider (ESI), after nearly a decade as a cornerstone of professional esports business and consumer journalism, has effectively collapsed following a devastating manual penalty from Google. esportsradar.gg/esi-staff-laid…

@hoffasaurusx What a shame. Sadly, most esports news outlets eventually go down. Flooding the website with gambling content definitely was the first nail in the coffin.

Horrible to hear about the Esports Insider layoffs today. Likely the end of a very important vertical that did some great work. The site was deindexed from Google last week, and that was likely the deathknell for ESI and it's writers. Became unvaluable for the owners.

Good point. The current landscape in CS2 offers plenty of opportunities for teams to climb their way up. However, the actual step from T2 to T1 is still huge. Renowned teams such as ENCE, who have the expectation to be in T1, still have to invest a substantial amount of money into their teams if they don’t want to gamble on unknown players – which they usually can’t do as easily due to sponsor expectations.

In fact, with no partnership agreements and the tier 2 LAN scene thriving, you could argue it has never been easier for orgs to climb the ladder But their rosters unfortunately haven't panned out as they would've liked, and going back to a Finnish lineup will definitely be cheaper

Janko definitely has a point here. The current landscape in CS2 offers plenty of opportunities for teams to climb their way up. However, the actual step from T2 to T1 is still huge. Renowned teams such as ENCE, who have the expectation to be in T1, still have to invest a substantial amount of money into their teams if they don’t want to gamble on unknown players – which they usually can’t do as easily due to sponsor expectations.