Scout, Worlds 2021 Champion and LNG’s midlaner, is set to miss Worlds 2024 amid a legal dispute with his former team.
Lee "Scout" Ye-chan, Worlds 2021 champion and midlaner for LNG Ninebot Esports, will be unable to compete in Worlds 2024 due to a legal dispute with his former team. This led to a travel restriction. The situation is quite complex, and LoL Esports had to intervene by announcing Zeng "Yagao" Qi as the emergency substitute for LNG, the third seed from the League of Legends Pro League (LPL).
Scout and EDG legal dispute explained
Initial contract issues (2021 to 2022)
- After winning Worlds 2021 with EDG, Scout expressed interest in returning to his home country, South Korea.
- He reportedly negotiated with League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) teams while still under contract with EDG, without properly informing them.
- Despite these negotiations, Scout remained with EDG for the 2022 season without further conflict.
Off-season and contract dispute (2023)
- In the following off-season, Scout reportedly tried to rejoin the LCK.
- Reports surfaced that Scout had a secondary commercial contract with EDG, unrecognized by Riot Games and not listed in the Global Contract Database.
- After Scout joined LNG Esports, EDG filed a lawsuit in July 2023 over the alleged breach of this contract.
- This legal dispute resulted in a travel ban being placed on Scout in April 2024.
Conflicting claims
- EDG's management recently stated that LNG was unaware of Scout’s travel ban until only a few days ago, when Scout’s agency, Supergent, responded by accusing EDG of lying.
- EDG’s management also stated that it wasn't either LNG's or Scout's fault, and holds Scout's agency responsible for the ongoing legal issues.
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Scout and Worlds 2024
- With Worlds 2024 approaching, LNG Esports faces a challenge as the travel ban may not be lifted in time.
- Without Scout, LNG must find a strong midlaner replacement, but restrictions prevent them from signing players from the top six finishers of the last split.
- LNG was in discussion with Riot Games about finding an emergency replacement.
- If no solution is found, LNG risks disqualification due to roster deadlines set by the tournament rules (Rule 2.2.2.2 and 3.2.1 of the rulebook states that team rosters must be finalized before Aug. 16).
- As a result, LoL Esports announced on Sept. 19 that they approved JDG's midlaner, Yagao, standing in for Scout for the tournament as an emergency substitute.
Mixed reactions within the community
The decision from LoL Esports has sparked mixed reactions within the community. Some fans are happy that LNG can compete with substitutes instead of being disqualified entirely, arguing that it would be unfair to penalize the other players who are not at fault and have worked hard to qualify for Worlds 2024. They also believe disqualification would disrupt the tournament’s format by leaving an odd number of participants.
On the other hand, some argue that the rules should be strictly followed, regardless of how complex the situation may be. Some suggest that LNG should have chosen one of their officially registered substitutes to replace Scout, rather than bringing in a player who wasn’t listed during the Worlds 2024 roster lock.
According to Worlds 2024 regulations, each participating team is required to list at least one substitute. For example, T1 has registered Rekkles as a backup for the support role. Based on the Worlds Pick'Em website, LNG has listed Zhou "xiaoyu" Yu and Zhao "Shad0w" Zhi-Qiang as their substitutes.
Yagao and LNG will begin their journey at Worlds 2024 through the Swiss Stage starting on Oct. 3. Stay tuned on esports.gg for more updates about LNG and Worlds 2024.
