Collegiate team director claims LCS orgs ‘reached out’ amid reported walkout

Over the last several days, the North American League of Legends community has been buzzing after reports claimed the league’s collective group of pro players has decided to walk out on opening day of the 2023 LCS Summer Split. With only two days left until the start of the split, teams have supposedly been forced to look elsewhere for talent, including collegiate squads headed to Los Angeles.

Saint Louis University’s team director Nick Chiu, for example, confirmed to Dot Esports that the team was contacted by “a couple of LCS orgs” in regard to opening day since his team—and three of the other top collegiate squads—was headed to L.A. to compete in the Collegiate League of Legends Championship’s final four.

The team was supposedly set to stay in the city from Wednesday, May 31 to Thursday, June 8 to play in the event. But now, they have apparently been propositioned to play as ringers for unspecified LCS orgs. Chiu did, however, make his and his team’s stance publicly known on social media, saying SLU won’t be playing for any LCS teams this coming week.

Related: What is the LCS walkout and what does it mean?

This situation has stemmed from Riot Games’ recent decision to remove a mandate that required all LCS organizations to field a tier-two roster, leading to seven of the 10 teams in the league pulling out of the region’s Challengers League. Many players and staff members lost their jobs immediately after the decision and the community began to lament the possible death of the region’s path to pro.

In response, the LCS Players Association called on the entire LCS player base to join forces against the decision in solidarity with their fellow players and staff. Not only did the association levy a list of requests to Riot, but it was also reportedly able to rally the players into a majority vote for a league-wide walkout, leaving the teams with no players to field for the opening week of the season.

Only two days remain until the 2023 LCS Summer Split is supposed to begin. But with players standing strong across both the first and second-tier levels of play, there is a chance that a lockout could occur until a resolution can be agreed upon by both Riot and the LCSPA.