The veteran ADC is prepared to return to pro play in order to play at Worlds.
Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng admitted on stream over the weekend that he is prepared to fold in the historic LCSPA player walkout - citing that if he had the choice between having the Summer Split canceled and competing at Worlds, he would choose the latter.
"If it's the option of standing by Academy [...] or having summer split be cancelled like Riot threatened and just letting go of the situation, I'm letting go"
The war between Riot and the LCS Players Association (LCSPA) rages on. One of the most prominent figures in the league's history is ready to abandon the walkout. In a recent announcement, Riot Games threatened to cancel the 2023 LCS Summer Split and not allow teams from North America to compete in the company's flagship tournament, Worlds.
This 'threat' from Riot shone a light on Doublelift's stand on the current battle the LCS players are facing. Competing at Worlds, regardless of NA's recent performances, is a high honor for any professional player. And it seems if Doublelift had to choose between standing by his players and attending Worlds for the seventh time, he would walk out on the walkout.
"If it's the option of standing by Academy and having LCS Summer Split be cancelled like Riot threatened and just letting go of the situation, I'm letting go. I'm not so gung ho about it that I am not willing to play Summer Split. When Riot threatened to go nuclear, that is a pretty big threat."
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Doublelift does not agree with the LCSPA demands
This caused Doublelift over the weekend to upload a twenty-minute video addressing the situation. In his video, the 100T ADC listed the LCSPA's demands as "unreasonable," and "not really agreeing" with any of the demands. Here is a summary of Doublelift's thoughts on each LCSPA request:
Promotion and relegation:
- Doublelift does not believe the VALORANT style promotion and relegation system would work due to the $10 million fees organizations had to pay. The veteran ADC also believes there are already too many LCS teams and Riot needs to 'find a way' to cut two teams to make eight LCS teams - meaning in theory there is more top talent amongst fewer teams.
Guaranteed contracts:
- One problem Doublelift had with guaranteed contracts was the idea that players could be "carried" to a championship. Meaning that would not warrant a guaranteed contract in Doublelift's eyes.
A 3/5 continuity rule:
- Doublelift is indifferent to this request, understanding from both a player's and an organization's point of view.
Riot commits to a revenue pool:
- Doublelift does not agree with the amount of money players in the NACL are making. With the NACL being so linear in its format, Doublelift believes tournaments with 'highly motivating' prize pools should return. This would give the incentive for players who would earn considerably less to give it their all in every tournament.
Cost-sharing affiliates:
- The 100 Thieves ADC doesn't have an opinion on this point, citing that Riot has already agreed and addressed this issue in their response post.
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