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H2K Gaming has issued a statement detailing its thoughts on relegation in the LCS.
The issue has been a hot topic recently with many team owners sending Riot a letter, which was leaked, demanding that they remove relegation from the league, as it creates a lot of issues. H2K has gone one step further and issued a public statement, which can be seen here.
In the statement H2K give the example of the Boston Red Socks appeared in the World Series one year and finished last in their division the next. If relegation was in place in MLB then they would be out of the main league, as is the case in the LCS.
“All LoL teams are also subject to certain uncontrollable risks such as disability, prolonged illness, death or major disagreement with one or more key players,” read the statement. “The risk of poor performance (leading to potential Relegation) is magnified because the starting five consists of only five players so the unavailability of any one is generally devastating; teams cannot afford to maintain quality substitutes for each position.
“The overhang of Relegation limits EU LCS teams’ access to capital, significantly reduces the value of the teams, and makes their sale very difficult. Schalke04, having made a sizeable investment during 2016 and losing this investment six months later, has sent shockwaves through other Soccer teams, VC’s and high net worth individuals.
“Relegation also makes sponsors reluctant to make any meaningful financial commitment to a team since any brand association may disappear in a year. Additionally, Relegation fosters team instability and makes player retention more difficult.”
Riot is yet to comment on the team’s demands for the removal of relegation or the new statement from H2K.
