- MonteCristo recently gave a grim prognosis for the LCS in 2024
- He claimed organizations cannot pay what the top-tier players command
- This could have a negative impact on the performance of the teams
Popular League of Legends personality Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles claimed that as the LCS’s teams cannot afford the top players, meaning they will have to take up inexperienced ones, which would diminish the team’s quality.
LCS Could Look Different in 2024
Fans of competitive League of Legends have often regarded the LCS as a region that always struggles to keep up with its counterparts from other continents. Considering the third and fourth seeds unceremoniously dropped out of Worlds 2023, this seems to support the claims. This, alongside many other factors, makes many think the LCS will see some big changes in 2024.
However, according to one popular LoL personality, these changes might be even bigger than everyone expected. On a recent episode of Power Spike, co-host Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles argued that LCS teams are “exploding” in the off-season, painting an outlook that will see much less high-profile imports.
According to the LoL personality, many organizations are unable to pay what the top-tier players command. This would mean that the region’s landscape could look very different next year, which could negatively impact LCS team’s performance, as the top talents leave for other regions.
Orgs Will Have to Use Less Experienced Players
“It’s gonna be hard next year for the West, especially for the LCS. What’s going on right now guys, behind the scenes – basically, every team in the LCS is exploding because of the esports bubble popping and the esports winter,” MonteCristo made a grim prognosis, although he did not say that every team would be affected in this way.
“Every LCS team is going to say, ‘Hey, if you wanna stay with us, you need to sign a new contract at a much lower dollar value, or we’re going to release you from your contract to be a free agent.’” the LoL personality continued. “So, there’s gonna be a giant free agency fiesta, but we’re not going to see the same level of high-quality imports.”
Although MonteCristo’s prognosis might be dark, it is not baseless at all. Although having a major boost in 2020, the LCS’s viewership has been dropping significantly over the past couple of years. In fact, LCS Summer 2023 saw record-low viewership numbers, reflecting the region’s drop in popularity. This means that organizations’ revenue also drops, which forces teams to look at “cheaper” options for acquiring members, such as hiring “grassroots” players competing from within the region or getting “budget imports”, with both types of players having less experience.
However, one hope still remains, despite the dark predictions. A “soft reset” like this could give newer LCS players many opportunities to shine and uplift the region again. Only time will tell.
