Splyce and H2K/PSG Denied from EU LCS Franchising
Riot Games pretty much went radio silent after announcing that they will be franchising the European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS) in 2019. It’s a complex, layered process that requires time, and it’s happening behind closed doors – so we don’t have any insight into the EU LCS franchising until the very end.
This time around, we do have an interesting tidbit. According to ESPN staff writer Jacob Wolf, both applications from Splyce as well as H2K/Paris Saint-Germain have been declined as Riot begins to select franchise partners.
The fact that H2K and Paris Saint-Germain won’t get into the EU LCS franchising doesn’t come as a big shock. H2K severely damaged their ties with Riot over the last two years because of their public outcries since they weren’t satisfied with their financial situation and overall revenue sharing.
After numerous open letters on Reddit, they decided to field an underwhelming roster for the 2018 season. They were barely able to secure two wins in the Summer Split, and they pretty much became the laughing stock of the region. They were heading into 2019 with absolutely zero hype, and any remaining fans that were supporting the team from their glory days were abandoning ship.
You could even argue that they didn’t have a reason to be in the LCS seeing how they made zero proactive moves to establish a more competitive and capable roster.
As for Splyce, it’s a shame we won’t be able to see the organization compete any longer coming into 2019. While they haven’t accomplished a ton over their EU LCS run, they’ve always tried their best. Which is highly admirable. They often came close, and you could argue that 2018 was a solid year for the Splyce boys, albeit with an underwhelming conclusion.
They don’t have a big following overall, but they were one of the better teams in the region ever since they joined the EU LCS back in 2016 after acquiring the LCS spot from Team Dignitas EU.
The fact that Splyce is going to be running the Toronto spot in the Overwatch League could have impacted their chances of getting into EU LCS franchising. While they probably would have been able to compete in both games, it’s already well known that Riot Games prefers organizations that focus solely on League of Legends. Of course there are a few exceptions like Cloud9 that’s also running the London Spitfire team in the Overwatch League.
With the OWL Season, two spots going for up to sixty million dollars, perhaps limiting an organization to only a single game isn’t that bad of an idea.
The selection process should come to an end in the next month or two, so we should be getting a lot more news soon.
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