James “Dash” Patterson announced his exit from the 2023 LCS broadcast on Jan. 3, which stirred a heated discussion in the League of Legends community.
Immediately after the announcement, Dash held a stream on his Twitch account, where he revealed more details regarding the situation. He explained that the decision was made by Riot Games, which concluded that the LCS won’t need a desk host in 2023, a role that Dash has been taking and elevating for 10 years.
Moreover, Dash revealed that Riot didn’t hold any discussions with him before the decision. In August 2022, they simply told him that he won’t have a regular spot in the LCS talent team in the following year. And while he might still return in 2023 for some special moments and occasions, he won’t be a consistent part of the broadcast.
Dash’s departure left the League community saddened, with many of its members claiming on Twitter that the LCS won’t be the same without him. At the same time, many people started wondering about the future of the LCS and its broadcast, even more so because he’s not the only major person gone.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at who’s left in the talent team for the upcoming season, and who won’t be coming back.
Who won’t be in the 2023 LCS broadcast?
Dash is the latest individual that announced his departure from the broadcast, but he’s not the only one. On Dec. 9, 2022, David “Phreak” Turley, one of the most renowned League casters of all time, also bid his farewell to the LCS talent team. The 35-year-old transitioned into a new role of game designer for Riot Games on the Summoner’s Rift team.
In his message to the fans, Phreak explained that “this felt like the right time” to make a switch to game design, which has been his college days’ dream.
And sadly, there is another play-by-play caster who left the LCS broadcast team by the end of last year: Julian “Pastrytime” Carr. The Australian has been a play-by-play caster for the competition since 2016. He explained that he will be moving on to another role with Riot Games; however, it remains a mystery so far.
Who is staying on the 2023 LCS broadcast?
So far, the official list of the talent for the upcoming season of the North American competition hasn’t been announced. Although with no other members of the broadcast talent announcing their departure, it’s safe to speculate that they will continue working in the LCS in 2023.
In 2022, the competition had 11 regulars who commented or analyzed the games or hosted the desk and interviews. With three of them gone, it’s safe to say the remaining eight will remain on the broadcast. The list of those people goes as follows.
- Gabriella “LeTigress” Devia-Allen
- Emily Rand
- Clayton “CaptainFlowers” Raines
- Isaac “Azael” Cummings Bentley
- Joshua “Jatt Leesman”
- Mark “MarkZ” Zimmerman
- Sam “Kobe” Hartman-Kenzler
- Barento “Raz” Mohammed
With Phreak and Pastrytime gone, the LCS will surely need to find another pair of play-by-play casters, since, as of now, they only have one caster fit for the role in the form of CaptainFlowers. On the other hand, it’s unlikely that the broadcast will have a new host, since the main reason for Dash’s departure was that it no longer needed anyone in such a role.
The 2023 LCS Spring Split is scheduled to begin on Jan. 26, and the list of the broadcast team should be announced a few days before that.
Published: Jan 4, 2023 08:17 am