BRION, a team within the LCK, were wrongly informed about the side selection for their match against KT Rolster almost a month ago. Now, they’re pursuing further action from the LCK with claims that this wasn’t a first-time issue, and have threatened legal action if LCK officials don’t take measures to prevent situations like this in the future.
Good drafting is a huge part of winning a game of League of Legends. Regardless of how good the players are, ensuring that you’ve got some winning lanes and a goal with your team composition is imperative to pulling out a win.
Blue side and red side have their own unique set of advantages when it comes to drafting, and coming up with a strategy that allows your team to secure power picks and counterpicks is an incredibly important part of pro play.
It’s been confirmed that BRION was given the wrong side selection from their opponent KT Rolster ahead of their match, and revealed that they didn’t know which side they’d be playing on until 40 minutes before the match.
LCK officials apologize to BRION for side selection error
BRION were misinformed going into their match against KT Rolster, a miscommunication that put them at a disadvantage based on how they planned their drafts. Despite the mistake, BRION were forced to play the match only 40 minutes after being informed that they’d be playing on blue side instead of red.
BRION detailed the situation in their statement exposing mistakes made by LCK officials, mistakes that the LCK has admitted to in their official apology.
The LCK rulebook states that “side selections are chosen 3 days before each match, and league officials are in charge of communicating side selections to teams.” This gives teams a few days to plan their draft against their opponent and come up with which picks they’re going to prioritize.
KT Rolster had 3 days to plan their draft. BRION had 40 minutes.
Officials running league operations within the LCK have taken full accountability for the mistake, but fans aren’t satisfied with the “unacceptable” way BRION was treated.
Almost a month later, this issue has once again come up with a full statement from BRION calling out the LCK officials for the way this situation was handled at the time. BRION have claimed that they had a side selection error of the same nature with their Challenger’s League team in the past, and have threatened to file a complaint with the FTC along with a civil lawsuit in response to what they deem as unfair behavior.
Additionally, Brion have requested financial compensation from the LCK for these issues. However, rather than taking the money for themselves, they’ve requested that the money be donated directly to charity. The amount paid out would set the standard for what teams can be expected to be compensated if issues like this occur in the future.
They also called for the LCK to have their own officials and operations held to a strict set of rules just like the teams themselves, with rules in place to ensure that every team is treated fairly and equally within the league.
This announcement has come with support from LCK fans all over the world. BRION has a cult following in the West due to their unpredictable playstyle and the bright personalities on the team, giving this team supporters from countries outside of Korea through the controversy.
Fans of BRION are calling out the LCK for discriminating against BRION in the past due to their status as one of the lower tier teams in the region, with this lengthy twitter thread detailing some of the ways that fans believe BRION has been left by the wayside in ad campaigns and award shows within the region.
LCK officials have yet to respond to the new set of complaints from BRION at the time of writing.
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