Didn't want to make a link post, but based on dGon's tweets provided below, it seems there may be an issue? Peter Dun seems to indicate Kaori will be the starter, so some clarification from Riot may be in order.
Tweets:
https://twitter.com/dGon/status/1567211416846999554?t=5Mh-mXlRMRIZn9lFmegAVg&s=19
https://twitter.com/dGon/status/1567212370099044352?t=YgnSY4AskhgbsN9_yVn7tg&s=19
External link →There is an Emergency Substitution Clause in 4.5 that reads:
In the event of an emergency prior to the scheduled start of a Match, a Team will be given up to two hours to produce an eligible substitute on-site. If a replacement cannot be found, then the Team will forfeit. League Officials will determine if an event qualifies as an emergency.
I think it's safe to assume that the League Ops will classify this situation as an emergency, especially considering the substitute player is already contracted by the org and it's clearly not just a ploy for an upgrade.
Yes, I can confirm that LCS has supported an emergency substitution due to mental health. For privacy reasons I don't think it's appropriate to comment on the specifics but we have verified the nature of this emergency and have notified competing teams.
Just as a wider comment -- I think mental health is extremely important in esports and in the LCS and it's something I personally believe we need to keep supporting. Earlier this year, we started discussing how we as a league can help with mental health overall in the LCS and in our development systems. For example... how we think about our formats (e.g. break weeks), working with players on their schedules (e.g. trying to avoid doing LCS-produced content on their 1 day off a week), having general mental health resources and more support, how we structure our academy/amateur development, and of course having mental health resources and support for our players... I think these are all things we'd like to invest in. A much wider topic for another time, but just know that supporting mental health is really important and a factor when it comes to decisions like this with a lot of nuance.
Really glad to hear this. Sometimes in "gamer" spaces mental health isn't valued, encouraging to see Riot cares about it.
Thank you! It's really important. I've been personally affected by it as I'm sure many others have as well. This is just something all of us in the industry should be thinking about and trying to work together to help as much as we can, IMO.
Thanks for stepping in and stepping up Jackie! Feel for Danny and his current situation as a young athlete. Want to see a healthy Danny at worlds, 2023 and beyond!
Thank you for your support! <3
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