Riot confirms League of Legends' NA esports season delay following player walkout

"To make sure we live up to the quality we've promised to fans, we're delaying the LCS season for two weeks," read a lengthy statement from Naz Aletaha, the Global Head of LoL Esports.

"All that said, a top priority for us always is the fans. While last week we immediately put in place contingency plans to begin the LCS season on Thursday, we ultimately decided that it would not hold true to our values that Riot's esports offers our players and fans a showcase for the best competitive League of Legends. Nothing but putting the best players in North America on the stage at Riot Games Arena is acceptable. So we informed LCSPA leadership today that we will delay the LCS season for the next two weeks.

"Hopefully, this two-week window will give us time for productive dialogue between the LSCPA, teams, and the league and then resume LCS competition this summer. The LCS will not be penalising the teams for not fielding their rosters during this two-week period to allow everyone space to focus on constructive dialogue. We are doing our best to ensure LCS employees, contractors, and others supporting the LCS are not negatively impacted by the delay.

"Delaying beyond the two-week window would make it nearly impossible to run a legitimate competition, and in that case, we would be prepared to cancel the entire LCS summer season. Carrying this forward, if the LCS summer season is cancelled, this will also eliminate LCS teams qualifying for 2023 Worlds. I want to be clear: That is not an outcome we'd want, but it's unfortunately the reality of ensuring we run a fair, competitive global system."