In a post on their eSports website, Riot Games has attempted to shed some light on the current issues surrounding the EU LCS spot held by the Lemondogs. Riot has addressed both the final roster of the team as well as their policy regarding rosters of LCS teams.
With regards to the Lemondogs roster which will be participating in the European League Championship Series, Riot had this to say:
“We have attempted to work with Lemondogs management…to get the documents and information – such as a verified roster – required by every team that participated in the LCS…Lemondogs failed to identify a valid roster to us, and as a result, have been given a final deadline of 11:59pm CEST on January 8th, or they will face removal for the LCS”
The post continues with the information that if the Lemondogs fail to submit a roster, then they will hold a qualifier for the final spot between the three teams who lost in the Promotion Qualifier (Ninjas in Pyjamas, Meet Your Makers and Supa Hot Crew).
Many people were speculating as to the possibility that the roster of Ninjas in Pyjamas would take the Lemondogs spot or perhaps that the players would join the organization, but those rumors were quelled by manager Martin “Deficio” Longe. However, a recent post on Twitter by ODebeuf claiming that members of Supa Hot Crew would be the new Lemondogs team has sent rumors swirling once again (the post has been since removed). There were also rumors that Lemondogs might sell their LCS spot to a different organization, much as Velocity eSports did to Evil Geniuses in North America after they were unable to field a complete roster.
All this confusion during the off season regarding roster changes, promotion teams and the buying and selling of LCS spots has forced Riot to scrutinize their LCS rules for roster submissions and changes. On this issue, Riot said:
“We created the Promotion mechanism to ensure the best teams are represented in the LCS. While we want to preserve a lot of the rights of those teams (such as the freedom to change their roster in order to field the best team possible, or selling to a new, passionate owner), we don’t want to let those rights marginalize the competitive integrity inherent in the Promotion mechanism.”
In order to attempt to repair the Lemondogs situation and prevent further system murkiness in the future, Riot has stated that they are adding the following rules to the LCS:
- In section 3.1: No Team Member on a team who played in either LCS region and/or and aspect of the Challenger Series (including Play-In) may purchase or otherwise attempt to own/control an LCS team without a complete Split having taken place since their last point of participation in the LCS or Challenger Series
- In section 3.1: Changes in Ownership may only occur between Splits, meaning after the most recent Playoffs and Promotion Matches but before the start of the following Split
- In section 3.2: No team may have on their roster more than two players at a time from any single starting lineup of a different team that playing in either region of the LCS and/or any aspect of the Challenger Series (including Play-In) in the last two completed Splits
- In section 4.2.1: Per Section 3.2, no team may trade for more than two players of another LCS team
These rule changes essentially prevent any teams from purchasing rosters of teams that failed to qualify for the LCS in the Promotion, stop radical mid-season roster or ownership shifts and preserves the hard work of Challenger teams.
These rules will likely come into effect with the start of the Spring Split next week. Also, expect an announcement shortly regarding the Lemondogs roster for the EU LCS.
Source and Headline Image: Riot Games
