The LCS, An Entertainment Show Or A Competition?
Winning is the most important factor in esports when trying to gain a following. And teams from all around the world have shown that their fan bases can increase tremendously every time they win a championship in League of Legends. Legendary teams like T1, G2 Esports, and Team Liquid didn’t amass their legions of supporters by finishing in the middle of the pack in their respective competitions.
Before this weekend’s LCS Summer Finals, numerous owners met with the media and stressed the importance of winning tournaments above producing content for existing fans.
Disguised Toast, a former streamer who now owns a League of Legends team, began the debate with a comment in which he criticized LCS organizations for being “behind the times” in terms of their content. “Traditional LCS orgs don’t really understand how to create content,” Toast remarked. “They’re boring, and the lineup changes every year, so there’s never any suspense. And the result is basically nothing. There’s no fun in watching anything that has no audience involvement, no story, and no emotional connection to the characters“.
Cloud9 have won three of the last six LCS crowns despite yesterday’s setback, and they have won at least one title in each of the last four seasons. In 2020, Team Liquid had recently won four consecutive LCS titles before Cloud9 won their second title ever.
The question you must ask is, “Are you building a content creation team, or a championship team?” According to Steve Arhancet, proprietor of Liquid. “If winning the title is your first priority, then you should select the greatest players available. Period.”
When asked why he signed players like Bjergsen and Doublelift, Arhancet said it wasn’t because they would provide the team with content, but rather because they were the best available free agents at the moment. Arhancet stated that he did not want to build his company’s reputation in the present market using “a creator, fatty content, or the superficial validation or clickbaity whatever that’s happening on YouTube.”
Disguised Toast has an advantage in the content market because he is a YouTuber with millions of subscribers. His team, Disguised, recently won the North American Challengers League, which is great for his reputation both on and off the stage. A tier two tournament victory can only bring so much attention to his goods, and getting a franchise in a league with few openings is a risky proposition.
For a streamer/tier-two owner to secure a position on a panel with the top brass of the LCS is a clue that it may just work. Whether or not a content creation org formula can work in North America among teams who have historically put winning first and content second remains to be seen.
In the event that DSG does make it to the LCS stage next year, it may be enough to show that entertainers have the same right to compete as serious players.
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