LoL: New Rule Set in Place to Protect Players of the LCS

The NALCS Player Association announced late Monday evening, on Twitter a new rule has been set in place to protect all players involved within the league. This rule refers to a situation involving Johnny ‘Altec’ Ru, Adrian ‘Adrian’ Ma, and Kim ‘Fenix’ Jae-hoon who were all released, by Echo Fox, last summer split on the eve of rosters being locked. The situation caused an outburst by fans and players alike as they felt that Echo Fox had made a morally wrong move by not giving their players enough time to find a new team or opportunity in the LCS. This series of events also showed how much the esports scene needed to grow to help prevent a situation where the players are left in limbo, while still being fair to the organizations that hire them.

Today’s news is a massive step for the North American esports scene, specifically in League of Legends, as it gives players security that they will be given a fair chance to look for an opportunity, in the case they are dropped by their current team within 48 hours of the Roster Change Deadline. This will be how the rule will work according to the official NALCS rule set found through @MalaclypseDC via twitter:

5.1.9. Roster Change Deadline Safe Harbor. The Roster Change Deadline shall be extended by three (3) business days concerning any Player released from a Full Team Roster within forty-eight (48) hours preceding the Roster Change Deadline in either Split, as outlined in Section 1.2.3 (Spring) and Section 1.2.9 (Summer).

• Note: This rule is intended for situations where a Player is dropped from a Team close to the Roster Change Deadline to provide a period where any Team in the League may sign the Player.

To me this is a great initiative by the NALCS PA and shows that the association is accomplishing what it was meant to do, helping pro players, within the first year of its creation. Via the official tweet of the NALCS PA, it was mentioned that the president of the association, Darshan ‘Darshan’ Upadhyaya, made a significant effort for this rule to be set. It also feels like great timing for the rule to be implemented as it comes two weeks before the inaugural match of the 2019 LCS Season, set to begin with Cloud9 vs. Team Liquid, a rematch of the Summer Split finals.

What are your thoughts on the rule and do you feel it will make a difference in the League of Legends professional scene? Feel free to let us know on our Twitter or join our new Discord.

Photo Courtesy of NALCSPA and LoL Esports.