For many of those who follow esports day by day, it is no surprise that 2023 will be a year of great changes and unexpected decisions for different teams, which are facing a recession phase as predicted since the middle of the season. pass.
This time of uncertainty not only brought us news such as the sale of CLG’s slot to NRG in the North American LCS, but also teams from Asia have already started working to try to weigh their financial situation.
Among these are those belonging to the LCK, the highest competitive league in League of Legends in South Korea, and who appear to be following the example of their counterpart in China by introducing a salary cap for each player on their franchised teams.
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LCK seeks to improve the sustainability of its squads
According to reports from the Korean media INVEN, multiple officials close to this competitive league confirmed that the LCK and its 10 organizations agreed to its implementation after various discussions. However, the form in which it will be done and the moment in which it will be imposed has not yet been determined.
Prior to this, it was well known that the South Korean circuit had major problems regarding salaries since the end of 2021, so most of its member teams began to promote a way to solve it. At the time, the LCK denied needing to introduce it, while T1 strongly opposed any kind of move.
However, once the price of players skyrocketed, opinion on salary caps changed as well. While there was previously a lot of concern about player migration and the level of competitiveness of the LCK, now the consensus is that a way needs to be found to curb excessive salary inflation.
In addition, in the last competitive season, some officials revealed the awkward situation of the esports market with direct expressions such as frozen market and closed wallets. This means that it is not just about salaries, but almost all teams have had a deficit for some years.
Surprisingly, T1 is one of those teams that is in the red. According to SK Telecom’s consolidated audit report released in April, T1’s operating loss in 2022 was approximately $144 million, which greatly impacted its sports plan.
Regarding this situation, the LCK confirmed that they have been discussing various solutions with the teams for the sustainable growth of the league, but nothing related could be confirmed at this time. Likewise, one of its officials affirmed that if it were introduced “there is the possibility that the earnings of the players will be disclosed”, which would give more transparency to this competition.
For the moment, we will have to wait to find out if the most powerful league in League of Legends it will finally implement this model, which has already shown its good results since its arrival in the LPL in 2021 by dividing player salaries according to their performance and historical results.
But tell us, what do you think about salary caps in leagues like the LCK? Do you think something like this is necessary for our region? Tell us in the comments.
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