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LoL Esports salary caps

Kritya·10/25/2015, 6:32:37 AM·4 votes·1,719 views

As somebody who has been involved in sports his entire life, I feel like this needs to be brought up. From football, soccer, baseball, wrestling and lacrosse, i have played team sports since i was 7. Im now 25 and I coach football. I'm gonna get right down to it.

Professional Esports on the world stage is boring. The most exciting games are the ones where similarly matched teams play each other. OG and EDG. TSM and AHQ. Why? because it's a fair competition. Korean teams walking in and being projected to have any of their teams hit the finals and the other 2 to win their groups is just.. that's not an international sport lol. it's a korean sport with some friendly international invitations.

Please understand I am not hating on the korean teams. They are outstanding for a reason. Hard work, dedication, and nonstop practice along with a true understanding of how to play as a TEAM. not spoiled little westernized white kids complaining about what they're entitled to.

BUT

I am sayign that without some kind of equalizer (like a salary cap as enforced in the NFL and the NHL, and the NBA)) there really is no point to the worlds competitions. And I don't need any more evidence than the last 4 world tournaments. If Riot doesn't find a way to keep the teams from monopolizing the talent then this will never really be a balanced competitive sport.

Granted i realize this is an issue of culture and atmosphere. However, i firmly believe that if Riot took a direct administrative role with regards to the teams (NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB) that there really would be that competitive edge that everybody really really wants, but we just kinda lie to ourselves saying hey look every region has a shot. No they dont. Not without a Cinderella story attached to them. Pay the players. or the teams. Whichever. But also hold them to that standard that is expected of a professional athlete. Don't just say they're professional athletes cause they get paid. In professional sports you get paid because you are the best AND because you will put in the time, effort, and attitude to remain the best.

Koreans aren't superheroes. They just treat Esports the same way we treat athletic sports. Our athletes change their diets, train mentally and physically, break down everything every opponent does, and understand every single possibility they have to prepare for. And most importantly they do their best to recruit players that are great for their teams. Not for their individual skills (obviously it's a huge factor, but character is usually considered more important than stats, any professional coach or manager will tell you that. It's common sense. Toxicity and bad attitude will always lose to a cohesive and positive team)

So, this is all just food for thought and I'm sure riot has heard this before and my arguments will make no impact, but it's worth a shot lol. Find a way to enforce an atmosphere that actually feels like a professional sport. (from a team and management aspect of course. The casting is awesome and so are the crowds and the venues)

There's a reason the yankees have won so many titles... $$$$$$$ and no cap. It's not competitive. Find a way to enforce that ultimate competitive atmosphere and find a way to keep things somewhat even. Right now the League pro scene feels like baseball. Yeah you can root for your local team. But you know which 3 teams are probably gonna be playing for the pennant.

good luck Fnatic

6 Comments

Archon X10/25/2015, 2:05:29 PM2 votes

lots of black people are in the nba lots of white people are in the nhl

maybe because every black kid grows up playing basketball

every white kid in cold climate areas grows up playing hockey

so if .001% of people who grow up playing a sport will be good enough to go pro, the group that has the most number of people growing up playing that sport will be best represented in the pros

Korean culture is friendly to gaming in general, and professional gaming in particular, so many young Koreans grow up playing video games as a serious activity. It's only natural that many Koreans would become good enough to be pros.

I will never understand why people resent the Koreans, except maybe out of jealousy. I'm a EU fan, of Origen in particular, but that's just because Europe is the ancestral homeland. I still think NA teams suck ass.

Not sure what salary caps are going to fix, do you have evidence that the very best teams have poached or otherwise cornered the free agent market with obscenely lucrative contracts? I was under the impression that the majority of income available to pro gamers was for tournament prizes and their streams, with mainly their living expenses being the main thing that pro teams can offer them during the season.

Live2LetDie10/25/2015, 6:39:48 AM1 votes

I mean they already made it so a region has to have the majority of players be from that region. Koreans are hands down the hardest working players of any region, I think it was stated they play 16 hrs a day 5 days a week, can't have gf, and had to be with the team. Salary wise I don't think they even get a % of what other sports pay.

There money comes from spinsters and streaming

Frank The Dank10/25/2015, 6:48:27 AM1 votes

"If Riot doesn't find a way to keep the teams from monopolizing the talent then this will never really be a balanced competitive sport." Are you serious bro their not monopolizing anything the korean teams use their own home grown talent that they get from their country. You want to know why Korea is so good its because of their esports infrastructure that they have built over the last decade. Give the other countries time they will keep growing and growing we have to build a foundation like korea and that takes time. And its not boring other wise people wouldn't watch it i mean we have 2 western teams make it top 4 and maybe 1 will even make it to the finals. And on a side note you have to realize its harder for players to play in other countries because of things like language barriers or the fact that maybe they just want to play in their own country.

Final Boss Naut10/25/2015, 6:59:07 AM1 votes

and maybe riot will build a city where all the NA players can go and pray to the rng god that their crits are more frequent than their enemies. where they have a school of league where you exercise 15 mins between every game you play all day from wake to sleep, with only 15 minute breaks for meals.

The Bíg Ticket10/25/2015, 1:01:41 PM1 votes

And how are TSM and AHQ equally matched? If I remember correctly AHQ completely destroyed them at MSI and they also made it out of groups this worlds while TSM went 1-5.

xJLx MCHammer10/25/2015, 4:39:10 PM1 votes

Salary caps don't fix nothing That's a regional issue.