In a recent article on poaching in the LCS by Chris “RiotChopper” Hopper, some interesting details have come out regarding former Immortals support Adrian “Adrian” Ma and his move to Phoenix1.
The article uses Adrian’s signing with Phoenix1 as an example to shed some light on what would (and would not) be considered poaching. “To provide an example of how this works, let’s take a recent example: Adrian’s signing by P1,” RiotChopper said. “P1 negotiated a deal and signed a contract with Adrian, but before documentation had been submitted, Adrian was also approached by other teams, including Echo Fox. This contact by other teams was entirely permissible; until documentation was submitted by P1 (which has since been sent in), the League considered Adrian to be a free agent. As such, Echo Fox was not guilty of poaching here, and acted fully within the boundaries of LCS rules. If any communication with Adrian occurred after the Database was updated, however, that would be a violation of League policy. All previous rulings where teams have been found guilty of tampering/poaching have involved players with valid, League-recognized contracts.”
The article goes into more detail about poaching, and it can be read here, but it is interesting to see that Adrian’s move to P1 was in compliance with all of Riot’s terms and guidelines.
Adam Newell is a journalist for @GAMURScom and can be contacted in ways displayed below. If you have any tips or want anything covered, be sure to let us know:
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Photo credits: LoL Esports
