The franchise model is not the best LCS can get

The poor results of NRG in LCS North America have caused a cascade of comments from various team owners calling for moving LCS to a franchise model. The good of the teams was quoted as the main reason to do it, but what of the sport? Would the league in general be better off?



[Edit] I have highlighted two paragraphs based on reddit comments. Everyone seems hung up on the issues that I think are less significant.

I don’t think the league would be more entertaining and I don’t think it would be more competitive. I think that in a franchise model LCS’s competitiveness will decay greatly.

Competitive?

How can a league that does not punish mediocrity become more competitive and, by extension, more entertaining to follow? If there’s nothing at stake for the teams at the bottom, what would motivate players to do well in every single game? And who would watch that? Where’s the value for Riot and for the sponsors?





Like it or not, the NRG vs. EchoFox match was interesting. Without relegation I’d have to get paid to watch that. There needs to be something at stake at both ends of the table. Otherwise half of the league becomes pointless to follow.

In the US the relegation side of sports is not widely known or appreciated, but it’s standard in European leagues. Relegation generates greatly engaging drama and following the bottom part of the league table can be genuinely interesting.



Teams at the bottom of the league have been known to dent major teams’ title hopes, such can be the motivation to stay in the leauge.





The threat of relegation is the only guarantee that every team will put in maximum effort into every one of their games. It’s the only guarantee that the maximum number of matches are actually competitive.





Do you want LCS to be as competitive as it can be?

LCS and Challenger - IMPORTANT

Adopting the franchise model in the LCS would probably mean that Challenger is replaced by a reserve team league. Which means that 50% of LCS would play for nothing and 100% of the league below it would play for nothing. Let that sink in a little.





How are you expecting the farm league to produce LCS-ready players if they never get to play games where the stakes are really high and the outcomes have a meaningful impact on their lives? The only thing that prepares you for high stakes matches are… high stakes matches.





You can have the most talented AD carry in your B team but how do you find out how the AD carry performs under real pressure? How do you know he’s ready both technically and mentally if nothing the guy’s played in was truly important?

Drafting Players - IMPORTANT

The idea of an LCS draft gets thrown around. But does the LCS have the robust backdrop that the NFL or the NBA have in hundreds of college teams? Each year there are thousands of players who see a realistic chance to play competitively and maybe become a professional.





For each spot on a pro team there are hundreds of players that play regular sports in a structured, competitive league with high stakes. Where is the League of Legends version of that if LCS has no relegation?



College esports won’t feed the LCS top players because most gamers reach the onset of their peak ability before their college age. College esports will be for players who were not good enough to be pro, or for players that decided to retire from LCS and take a scholarship somewhere nice.





Where will a franchise LCS produce its future stars if competitive League of Legends won’t exist outside it?

Better for players?

I am not sure if the franchise model is better for players. In fact, I think it might be worse. Franchise or not, good players will always have a place in a good team and bad players will always get cut.





The only difference is that in the current system Challenger players don’t have to rely on the competence of an NRG’s scout to play for the highest laurels. They can earn their place in the big leagues if they’re good enough, no questions asked. There’s something incredibly beautiful and romantic about having your fate in your own hands.





Don’t tell me it can’t happen. It’s happened with Cloud 9 and it can happen again.

Better? For team owners



Owning an LCS slot forever irrespective of mediocrity in the playing department (and other departments) does not appeal to me as a fan. Why wouldn’t we want someone with fresh ideas to come and challenge the incumbent LCS owners? Who says that the current group are the best that the league can ever hope for?

I am not advocating that Challenger in its current form is ideal, but I think the franchise model is only bringing downsides to the table.

I understand that various people invest a lot of money into LCS teams and having a very bad season can be a financial disaster. But since when is compassion supposed to be measured by the amount of money someone spent on a team that does poorly?

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About me: I am a former esports journalist and I currently work for ESL as the VP of Pro Gaming. You might know me as the guy in charge of the Intel Extreme Masters. Follow me on Twitter at @mbCARMAC.