"The LCS Should Have Eight Teams" – Doublelift Makes Statement Regarding LCSPA Demands
Doublelift utters his opinion on Riot's new rulings for the LCS and reveals how much he is willing to fight before giving in.
Recently, the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) underwent a series of significant changes, altering the landscape of the tournament, especially in their academy teams.
The new changes were followed by the first-ever player strike in League of Legends esports history, where several players from the LCS refused to play before Riot Games came to an agreement with the LCS Player Association (LCSPA). Unfortunately, until now, the two parties have not come to an agreement, and the player walkout threatens the LCS Summer Split and the LCS representation at Worlds.
Amidst this turmoil, one prominent figure has stepped forward to voice his opinion – Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, the esteemed bot laner for 100 Thieves.
Doublelift Willing to Drop Negotiations to Save LCS Summer Split
The recent changes to the LCS made by Riot mainly affect the LCS academy teams and not the first-division teams. Following the Riot ruling, most of the teams in the LCS have decided to drop their academy team, leading to several players and coaches losing their jobs.
Even though Doublelift does not agree with most of the terms made by the LCSPA, he decided to support the walkout initially because he believes the academy players were mistreated. This is what Doublelift said about the strike in his video:
Riot shouldn’t be able to make changes like that kill people’s jobs with no notice and no discussion.
Since the discussion is still ongoing and players from the first division are still standing behind the academy players, Riot is threatening to cancel the LCS Summer split.
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In his recent video, Doublelift explained that even though he supports the walkout, he is not willing to continue the strike if that means the LCS Summer Split will be canceled. Here is what he said:
I wanna say that I care, but if it is the option of standing by Academy and having LCS Summer Split be canceled like Riot threatened, and just letting go of the situation, I'm letting go.
"The LCS Should Have Eight Teams"
One of the terms made by the LCSPA was that Riot should "Institute a´VALORANT Style`promotion and relegation between the LCSs and NACL." This basically means that teams from the LCS Academy can make it to the LCS for one split if they play well.
Contrary to what many believe, this would not affect the teams who have bought a spot in the LCS, as they would not be at risk of relegation. Rather the teams who play in the academy league could have a chance to fight for two additional spots in the LCS.
In his recent video, Doublelift shared his concerns regarding this term made by the LCSPA. The star botlaner believes there are already too few competitive teams in the LCS.
Doublelift explained that, at this point, several teams in the LCS are no longer competitive and are just there to use the spot they paid for. He further explains that adding two additional teams where there are already too many would not benefit the league, and it would be better for the LCS to remove two teams instead.
Doublelift Responds to Criticism
After releasing the video, and sharing his thoughts about the LCSPA and Riot drama, several fans have criticized Doublelift for potentially hurting the negotiations between the two parties by revealing how much he is willing to do before canceling his walkout.
In a recent stream, Doublelift responded to the criticism by saying that he is not sabotaging anything and that he believes no one actually wants the negotiation to go as far as canceling the LCS Summer Split, not even Riot Games.
He further explains that the idea of canceling the upcoming season is something that should not even be entertained in the negotiation and, therefore, felt like it was okay to say what he did in the video.
The LCS Summer Split was supposed to begin on June 1. 2023 but is delayed until the discussion between Riot and the LCSPA is resolved. If the debate goes on for too long, this season will be canceled, as there will be no more time for a fair competition before Worlds 2023 begins.
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