Immortals went 17-1 in the Spring Split, finished #1, TSM went 9-9 and finished #6. In the playoffs, TSM beat Immortals in the semifinals and Immortals didn't make Worlds. Cloud 9 ended Spring in 3rd, got knocked out in the Quarterfinals (a full round earlier than Immortals) and did make Worlds. If you win the Spring playoffs (only need to make top 6 to get into the playoffs) you're in a good position (but not automatic) to go to Worlds, anything else and your odds aren't really any better than anyone else playing in the summer. So yeah, I can see why someone would say "why bother?" with the Spring split. Really, I'd say that's something Riot really needs to look into addressing right now or else I wouldn't be surprised to see more players do it. Heck, I can see it being more like the World Cup where a bunch of teams play either their rookies or else some "potentials" rather than their stars in the Spring, because the results don't matter much and it can be a good chance to give reps to up&coming talent.