Riot Games has responded to a question regarding the status of League of Legends shoutcasters following the reveal that popular caster Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles would not be contributing to Worlds.

ESPN Brazil pitched the question to Riot Games during a press conference hosted in the lead-up to the League of Legends Season 6 World Championships, which Yahoo Esports attended. Speaking to a panel consisting of Marc Merrill, Whalen Rozelle, Jarred Kennedy, and Brandon Beck, ESPN Brazil asked, “After the issue with MonteCristo… you guys just did not invite him to shoutcast in Worlds. So I want to know, what do you guys plan for shoutcasters in the next year and [whether] it’s true or not that you are not paying [your shoutcasters well]?”

Riot Games director of esports Whalen Rozelle responded with the following:

“If we talk about how the show is great… I mean shoutcasters are a huge part of that.

“I think that when it comes down to it, we care deeply about the casters we work with… both professionally because they’re such an important part of framing the sport and growing it, and making it accessible for esports fans who want to enjoy it. When it comes down to it, we need to do the right thing from a team perspective from building a great environment for them to providing them with the support that they need to do grow as professionals.

“Because just like esports, the profession of shoutcasting, at least in the West, has really grown out of something that we don’t know what the ceiling is on this thing yet. It’s about [compensation] as well. The whole package. We want to make sure that Riot is a place where the best shoutcasters want to come because it is a great place to work, it’s a great place for them professionally, and they can deliver a great product to League of Legends esports fans.”

Yahoo Esports will be covering the League of Legends Season 6 World Championships live from the show floor, so be sure to check back on site for more news!

Follow Zorine Te on Twitter @ztharli



