E-Sports: I'll Give You The Good News First

... and then double up on the other side of the equation.

• Riot Games scored, quite literally, a Hollywood coup with the ownership group of Phoenix1.

Thursday night, the veil was finally lifted on the mysterious tenth North American LCS team, Phoenix1 -- and boy, what was found behind it.

Not only did the team announce a 7-man roster (three of which came from the team it replaced, Team Impulse (reports vary on whether Team Impulse actually sold the team or whether Riot seized it and this is who came forward)), but listen to the ownership group:

1. Rob Moore, the vice-chairman of Paramount Pictures.
2. His son Michael, who will act as the team's managing partner.
3. And Hollywood director Jack Giarraputo.  You may recognize the name from a lot of the hit Adam Sandler movies.

That's a big move.  A HUGE move.  The team may or may not gel in time to actually do much in the Summer Split, but it's clear someone wanted to make a move.

Unfortunately, now, two pieces of bad news:

• First, the sublime.  For the second consecutive split in a row, Team Liquid (one of the few stable franchises in the North American LCS) has had to suspend and submit for release (AKA "FIRE") one of it's starting players for insubordination.

Some background on the first one:  About a month after last year's World Championships, Team Liquid starting top laner (usual position is the top of three lanes on the map) Diego Ruiz, named "Quas", was suspended for an apparent mental health incident at the headquarters of Team Liquid.  He sat out the spring split, was fired by Team Liquid, temporarily retired from the sport, and has now signed with fellow LCS team NRG Gaming.

Now, you can add their jungler (between the lanes of the map in the middle of the map is a large jungle -- it is one player's responsibility to control that jungle and provide vision for the team to see the other team's movements and kill monsters in the jungle to buff the team up) to the mix.

On Friday, Team Liquid announced a similar suspension to Joshua Hartnett, "Dardoch".  Hartnett was named Rookie of the Split for the Spring Split and had promise in front of him to become a major American star in League of Legends...

Well, let his coach Yoonsup "Locodoco" Choi tell you what happened next:

"We have decided to suspend Dardoch due to his insubordinate behavior. It may come as a surprise to our fans that we're starting the season this way. Yet as a coach, I believe that League of Legends is fundamentally a team game and a player who can't see eye to eye with that and can't put the team before oneself regardless of his skill will only stunt the team in the long run. We believe that 5 players under a single vision, putting everything we have to improve as a unit and working selflessly, is the best way to a healthy and a successful team environment. While this is a big change, we are moving closer to that environment with the suspension. We're going to succeed through our teamwork and effort, not individual players, and I still remain confident that we have a bright Summer Split ahead of us."

Fair to say, Dardoch is in serious trouble -- not only with Team Liquid, who will cut him at first opportunity, but with Riot Games, who may add significant further sanctions (or, like with  Quas, let the sanctions Team Liquid imposed stand).

Dardoch is in trouble for a number of offenses, including conduct unbecoming a professional player (which is a suspension offense on it's own).

His most serious possibilities, however, come as a function of violations of the core rules of cooperative and competitive play of League of Legends, The Summoner's Code.

The Code, in short, lists the core principles players of League of Legends must abide by:

1. Support your team.
2. Drive constructive feedback.
3. Facilitate civil discussion.
4. Enjoy yourself, but not at anyone else's expense.
5. Build Relationships.
6. Show humility in victory, grace in defeat.
7. Be resolute, not indignant.
8. Leave no newbie behind.
9. Lead by example.

By Locodoco's throwing under the bus (this isn't just a "statement", he chucked Dardoch under the bus here), Dardoch appears to be in violation of every one of these which does not involve direct competition on the Rift (the first five).

And, in having to suspend two players, Team Liquid themselves may be beginning the process toward endangering their future in the NA LCS and Challenger Series.  No one will confuse that Team Liquid has not been forthright with their actions (unlike the example I am about to give), but one more of these, and Riot Games may have to consider sanctions against the team for the actions of the players, not unlike when the Oceanic Pro League threw out, mid-season, Rich Gang for three suspensions within about a three-week period.

• Now to the ridiculous.  One of the most ambitious announcements of the 2015 Game Awards was Turner Networks and "ELEAGUE".  A 24-team Counterstrike:  Global Offensive tournament, ELEAGUE is the largest move of a major television player in the United States into e-sports.

Too bad there may not be 24 teams much longer.  (One team was already replaced due to visa issues -- this can happen and is not what I'm talking about.)

The same night as the first airing of the $1,400,000 per season league, controversy shook the league when ESPN reported one of the weirdest tampering stories I've heard in a LONG TIME.

SK Gaming and Luminosity Gaming are two of the 24 teams in the league.  On the same night Luminosity Gaming won the first season's Group A (each team plays a round-robin of the other teams in their group over the course of a single week, with the finals of that group culminating on TBS on Friday night), Jacob Wolf reports that SK Gaming believes it has contracts with not just one member of Luminosity Gaming, but their entire roster, plus the manager and coach!

The dispute charges that SK Gaming has poached the entire Luminosity team for this tournament - lock, stock, and barrel!!!  The contracts would go into effect July 1 (which would impact Luminosity's ability to complete the tournament -- the bracket for the prize money takes place in July), and ESPN states that SK Gaming believes it has a proper chain of communication going back to February.

But here's the kicker:  Under current professional Counterstrike: Global Offensive rules, there is NO APPARENT RULE similar to the League of Legends rules to prevent tampering!!!

This entire ELEAGUE situation (which also involves significant online presence) could go up in flames quite quickly!!!

Stay tuned.