Doublelift faces heavy scrutiny from LoL community after potentially undermining ongoing LCS walkout

One of the biggest topics in the League of Legends space has been the ongoing LCS walkout, a move taken by North America’s collective competitive players in response to Riot Games’ recent changes to the region’s tier-two scene. The walkout prompted a two-week delay on the 2023 Summer Split, while Riot and the Players Association negotiated possible terms that both parties could agree on.

But it won’t be much of a walkout if one of the LCS’ biggest stars isn’t on board.

In a June 5 stream, LCS icon Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng voiced his opinions on the situation, stating that if push came to shove with Riot and the possible cancellation of the 2022 Summer Split, he would rather play than continue the walkout.

Although it might not have been his intention, many people believe that he accidentally jeopardized any standing that the players had against Riot by making such statements while negotiations take place—especially as one of the most popular names in not only the region, but the competitive scene as a whole.

As a result, the 29-year-old has come under fire from the League community, especially after it seemed like he did not even know the true purpose of the walkout and what striking does for the workers involved.

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

“If the only turning point in the negotiation is the threat of exterminating the LCS for Summer Split and cancelling it, then I wouldn’t even want there to be negotiations, because that’s so crazy,” Doublelift said. “I didn’t think anyone was thinking that because we would refuse to play, that the LCS would be cancelled indefinitely.”

People were quick to point out that the whole point of the player walkout is to utilize their labor as the leveraging point for negotiations, because in the end, there cannot be a working product without the players on-stage. Although it would be rough, Riot would have to find acceptable terms, or risk not having a product in the “number two league” in the company’s esports ecosystem in terms of revenue.

By publicly stating that he would rather play the 2023 Summer Split rather than stand his ground, some think he’s shown an unsteadiness that could undermine the current conversations happening with Riot and the Players’ Association.

The start to the 2023 LCS Summer Split has been moved to Thursday, June 15 in the event that the Players’ Association and Riot can find common ground. But if not, we could see the complete cancellation of the season and the forfeiture of NA’s spots at the 2023 World Championship.