One of the most common complaints I receive when English-speaking fans is that they don’t follow Chinese League of Legends is because of a lack of accessibility. Few teams interact with English-speaking fans through social media, and most information is only publicly available in Chinese on NGA, Baidu, QQ Groups, or weibo, and creating accounts for these services can be an undertaking in and of itself. To add to the mess, rumors are frequent and sources are harder to find in China than they are in the English media.

The purpose of this column is threefold: to address problems in the Chinese League of Legends industry, to add context to roster move possibilities fans and others are discussing in China, and to make offseason tournament information easily accessible. If one wanders the Chinese forums or Reddit without background, it’s hard to decide what to believe and what not to believe — a big part of ‘Rebuilding China’ is to help navigate which rumors are likely and which aren’t. Not every rumor will be completely accurate, but I usually try to provide information on where the rumor might originate and how much one should trust it.

This is your weekly dose of Chinese League of Legends accessibility. Bring your skepticism and critical thinking.

Weekly hurdle: Talent scouting and the streaming bubble

It’s been exactly a year since I published my first article examining the topic of the Chinese “eSports Bubble.” The framework is still valuable as an introduction to the phenomenon, but as it has been a year, it’s time to examine the shortrun effects of the rapid expansion of the streaming market in China.

One function not outlined in the previous article is the cooperation between streaming platforms and team organizations. In signing big-name players, streaming companies occasionally enter into contracts with esports clubs or teams. Streaming companies agree to pay a portion of a player's salary for a required amount of streaming hours per month.

I don’t know precise details regarding Twitch or Azubu contracts with North American and European professionals, but I assume the system isn’t vastly dissimilar. Yet given the amounts Chinese streaming platforms are willing to spend, it explains why Chinese player salaries for big names or personalities can grow so high or so drastically different across players. If teams don't enter into deals with streaming platforms, they'll have much less to offer, and the bigger the name, the more the streaming platform is willing to provide.

It also explains why I don’t predict we’ll see nearly as many Korean imports heading to China this year. Many Champions players won’t have the same gravitas as Lee “KaKAO” Byungkwon built up after a year, and SK Telecom T1 players have all exhibited a great deal of loyalty to the organization. Demands of streaming platforms for many Champions players will necessarily be lower than they were last year. In addition, sources say it’s unlikely that platforms received the mainstream sponsorship or return on investment that they were anticipating this year.

That doesn’t mean platforms will let up on existing contracts or not attempt to broker deals for players already playing in China. As a result, many Koreans are likely to stay in China, even if they change teams.

In some cases, the streaming platforms have exacerbated the problems existing in the LPL scrim culture. While a lack of commitment to practice scrims seriously and an inability to reliably enforce it existed on many—not all—teams before this year, there has been an increased incentive to skip practice to stream or to take practice less seriously to make it entertaining for viewers. Chinese caster JoKer accused Lee “Spirit” Dayoon of skipping scrims or other practice to stream. Spirit had a strong fanbase and was one of the Korean players known for learning Chinese relatively quickly.

While Spirit argued against the accusation, his coach defended him, and while he personally may not have skipped scrims to stream or decreased the quality of his practice for the purpose of entertaining, similar accusations existed against other players. OMG’s Gao “Gogoing” Diping allegedly streamed frequently or played with fans instead of devoting himself to individual practice during LPL Spring. As I wasn’t personally watching either of their in-house interactions, I cannot confirm or deny these claims against Spirit and Gogoing. Regardless, the streaming incentive exists, and it's hard to fault players for capitalizing on it.

Team DK, Chinese esports organization best known in DotA 2, disbanded on Monday, commenting on rising prices and the effect of the streaming bubble on players feeling more entitled. Prices of players have sky-rocketed, and even younger players feel they may not have to listen to rules if they can earn more money elsewhere.

If players don’t cut back on practice time to stream, they still have to meet minimum monthly totals in their streaming contracts, which can occasionally be a burden. Some streaming contract minimums total 80 hours a month, which would number 2.6 hours of streaming a day in a 30.4167 (average days in a month) day month. In addition to sometimes demanding practice schedules that last until as late as 2am, this can be a heavy burden for a player leading to burnout or health complications.

Several players reported injuries either caused by or exacerbated by stringent schedules throughout the year, including Wei “GODV” Zhen, Gu “imp” Seungbin, Jian “Uzi” Zihao, Heo “pawN” Wonseok, and Tang “Koro1” Yang. The recent death of Tongfu’s media manager, Feng Chen, sparked debate over the health problems brought on by a gamer’s lifestyle.

As these problems don’t affect all teams, and the overall influence likely only exacerbates existing problems with infrastructure and practice time enforcement, the larger issue with the streaming bubble I see comes in harm that is being done to honing and growing a new Chinese talent base. By incentivising organizations to import big name Korean professionals or sign existing Chinese stars, streaming companies create a very large opportunity cost that comes with investing in green talent. Less scouting or try out periods also lead to less team cohesion for the sake of a brand name.

Players who might serve as mentors committed to the game also become more rare in League of Legends. A player at the age of 22 like Ming “Clearlove” Kai may as well be considered ancient in Chinese League of Legends. When I visited China in September and asked about Gogoing, who was just about to turn 24, some expressed surprise that he had not retired the year before and speculated he had only stayed with the team after an impressive World Championship showing.

While players at the age of 23 or 24 are considered older in North America and Europe, they’re extreme anomalies in Chinese League of Legends, especially if the player has already experienced a fair amount of success. Retired League of Legends players can acquire their own contracts and stream full time once they retire.

The culture is different in DOTA 2, as the tournament world has previously revolved around The International. Players will retire for as much as a year before "coming out of retirement" to join a team for TI. This will sometimes lead to organizations signing older players specifically for TI as a result of their popularity. Naturally, this creates its own problems that I don't feel as qualified to discuss.

In League of Legends, teams are left with fewer mentors and team leaders. In the cases where teams are forced to field new players in the wake of a mass retirement, they may lack a guiding voice and collapse completely, despite dedication and enthusiasm. With more experience, a dedicated player’s decision-making can improve, and players like Clearlove and Lee “Heart” Gwanhyung have excelled and overcome their previous levels later in their careers.

As a result, teams are left with less mature talent, and few Chinese rising stars to replace them. Should the bubble very suddenly pop, leading to the return of Korean pros to South Korea, Chinese teams might find themselves with a tall order.

Some teams, like Vici Gaming, sign a large amount of young substitutes or players from high ranks in solo queue. EDward Gaming spent a good part of last summer rotating in players transferred from their LoL Secondary Pro League team to give them more experience. Snake gave Liu “ZZR” Yuan a chance to start for the team after he managed to get two accounts into top ten of the Ionian solo queue ladder.

More efforts like this are valuable in the talent scouting realm. Many of these are brought on by strict transfer period laws that only allow players already signed to other teams to be transferred during two designated times of the year. As a result, if a replacement is required, a player must be scouted from solo queue.

The transfer rules can be a double-edged sword, however, as they also lead to a lack of talent scouting on established LSPL or TGA teams. Talented players in LSPL or TGA sometimes have to rely on making it onto a strong LSPL or TGA team to make LPL, as LPL teams rarely seem to scout from LSPL or TGA.

TnT, talented AD carry who already proved himself in LPL, spent 1.5 years in LSPL before returning with QG.

As already mentioned, streaming platforms only exacerbate existing issues with infrastructure in Chinese teams. Streaming contracts aren’t to blame for everything, but when Chinese teams traditionally perform well at the World Championship, it’s not a coincidence that the flood of money into streaming in China should coincide with the region’s worst showing at Worlds. We may see similar declines in the performances of Chinese DotA 2 teams in the coming year.

There’s little to be done about this outside treating some of the symptoms with better scouting and focusing on root problems as best as possible. When I wrote my article about the eSports bubble last year, I said the bubble simply will have to run its course. As OMG management commented when I asked them about rising salary demands of players in the current eSports climate:

It is embedded within China's environment, economic climate, social background, education environment, etc. Any rising industry in China would face the same problems of rapid expansion, and each decision one club makes affects another in a competitive environment. This is just inevitable, so I hope that everyone can make the most for himself and make this journey meaningful.

Streaming platforms will make solving some problems more difficult by giving teams and players alternatives to aiming for success in international competitions, but they aren’t the root of all evil. There are more pressing issues in the meantime.

Roster Rumblings

Confirmations

OMG’s Yu “cool” Jiajun and Hu “xiyang” Bin confirmed again that OMG will remain all Chinese in the foreseeable future. OMG have previously expressed that it’s important for the club to commit to doing it “on their own.” Going into the new season, it’s looking increasingly likely OMG are practically starting over. More may be known following the Demacia Cup Grand Finals this weekend.

Vici Gaming's management announced that Choi "DanDy" Inkyu will return to the jungle position next split for Vici Gaming in an interview with duowan journalist, MOCHA. The comment in the duowan interview more or less confirms DanDy will continue to play for Vici Gaming. The interview also said that the team is likely to keep their roster, with the one exception that Cho "Mata" Sehyeong is still deciding whether he wants to return to Korea.

I have written about my thoughts on Vici Gaming's roster from the end of Summer already. I think it's a good move to retain some of the talented rookies like Peng "Peng" Yibo, who is on my short list of young players to watch in 2016. I'll reserve my judgment until I know the starting top laner, but this could be a roster that ramps up to stand strong in LPL Summer.

If you watched the KeSPA Cup, you saw EVER defeat SK Telecom T1 and CJ Entus this week to win the entire event. If you watched the LoL Secondary Pro League games played by Energy Pacemaker Carries toward the end of the summer, you would remember bottom laners “Fruit” and “TML.”

While Fruit didn’t play for EVER, he’s on their roster as Park “Police” Hyeonggi, and TML ensnared the crowd with his impressive Bard play as Kim “KeY” Hangi. Fruit and TML make waves as some of the first Koreans to return to South Korea after playing in China — outside Son “mickey” Youngmin and Nam “lira” Taeyoo. All the best to them.

Likely

On the flipside of the Vici news, many have speculated that Spirit and Mata will not play in China next year. Recent information has made this more likely, but I can’t vouch for any other Koreans in China. WE have already made preparations for Spirit’s departure by signing a new Chinese jungler. It’s unclear what Vici Gaming will do, as Mata played just this week for Vici Gaming in the Preseason Exhibition against Qiao Gu and recently transferred their Chinese support substitute to another organization.

It’s heavily inferred DanDy be returning to the jungle role sooner than LPL Spring. A reporter for CGA previously stated he has heard DanDy will play jungle as early as the National Electronic Sports Tournament bracket stage.

The likelihood that Jian “Uzi” Zihao has returned to Royal Club has also increased, though it is still unconfirmed. If he does, it's possible Royal has found a way to negotiate around his high buyout.

Some information suggests Uzi will play for the last time for OMG this coming weekend at Demacia Cup. Uzi probably will not play for Invictus Gaming, but he has switched streaming platforms to PandaTV, a platform recently created by Invictus Gaming’s owner, Wang Sicong.

Buzz around Lee "Easyhoon" Jihoon has escalated both on and off forums. Sources are split on whether Easyhoon will join a new Chinese team this year or remain in Korea, but, unsurprisingly, there's definite evidence to suggest he's deciding between the two options.

Rumor Roundup

All rumors in this section are merely discussed in forums, and I have no additional support.

The heavy topic of discussion continues to fixate on Vici Gaming. With some speculating Yoon “Homme” Sungyoung may finally transfer officially to LGD Gaming in the offseason, that would leave the coaching spot vacant for Vici Gaming. Fans have thrown out several possible candidates for replacement, including Kim “kkOma” Junggyun.

If you’ve seen this rumor, I don't advise reading into it. I’m not sure if Homme would transfer officially to LGD or not, and even if he did, I can’t think of a reason for kkOma to leave SK Telecom T1 at this point.

Implication that DanDy will return to the jungle and that Mata will leave Vici Gaming has lead Lee “Duke” Hoseong fans to believe Duke will come to Vici Gaming. I don’t see Vici Gaming, an organization that has traditionally preferred to grow young talent in the League of Legends scene, spending a lot more money on a new Korean star after the team didn’t make the World Championship last year. The organization may not be able to afford it at this time.

Upcoming Events: Demacia Cup Grand Finals and End of Year Awards

As many already know, LGD Gaming will compete at the Intel Extreme Masters event in San Jose. They’re bringing their entire roster, including both Wei “xioaxi” Lisheng and Lee “Flame” Hojong. IEM does not restrict substitutions, so it’s not clear which roster LGD will start and whether they’ll keep the same lineup for the entire event. They’ll compete against Origen, Unicorns of Love, Team SoloMid, Counter Logic Gaming, and Jin Air Greenwings. theScore eSports will provide live coverage of matches as they occur.

EDward Gaming, Snake, OMG, and Invictus Gaming were not nominated in the vote for IEM San Jose attendance because they will compete in the Damacia Cup Grand Finals this weekend. The top two teams from Demacia Cup Spring and Summer were invited — as EDG placed top two in both events, Snake was invited for placing third in Demacia Cup Summer.

Demacia Cup Grand Finals take place in Wuhan Sports Center Stadium in Wuhan, China. The stadium can seat 54,000 people, but it is not known how many viewers will attend. All matches will be Best of Fives, beginning with the opening ceremony at 12:00 a.m. EST on November 21st.

Date Time Match November 21 12:30 a.m. EDward Gaming vs Snake November 21 5:00 a.m. OMG vs Invictus Gaming November 22 3:00 a.m. Grand Final

Following the final match on November 22nd, the LoL Pro League end of year award ceremony will take place. Fans with a Chinese service provider are welcome to vote for “Top Player” and “Best Caster” of the year. At the moment, Clearlove leads with 1.3 million votes, and Miss is winning best caster with over 720,000 votes. Clearlove’s staggering lead over his competition nearly clinches his victory, as the second highest number of votes belongs to Uzi at just over 400,000.

A panel will vote on all other categories. Remaining categories include Anual MVP, Best Club, Best Coach, Best imported player, Best new player in LPL this year, Best player in each role, Best manager, and most improved club from LSPL. Look for a separate article with the nominees and my thoughts on each category in time for the event.

Kelsey Moser is a staff writer for theScore eSports. You can follow her on Twitter.