LCS Green Lights Controversial Doublelift Trade

Cover picture courtesy Estnn
Thumbnail courtesy Swordartnatsu

• Doublelift leaves TL and heads back to TSM
• Doublelift is currently in a relationship with TSM president Leena Xu 
• Leena denies claims of conflict of interest and FC Schalke 04 backs her up.
• LCS looks into the claims and gives the trade a green light

In 2017, Doublelift switched to Team Liquid and now after two and a half years, he’s back in TSM again. Despite several allegations being thrown around and discussions galore, LCS looked into and greenlit the trade.   

The Story So Far

Due to issues including disagreements with teammates and illness, Doublelift wasn’t able to perform in the 2020 Spring Split. So after winning 4 of the 5 splits he played for TL, the team sank to 9th place on the leaderboard this season. TL decided to bench him for a few games and eventually put their star player up for trade going into the mid-season break.

Doublelift explained all in a vlog citing motivation issues and friction with TL management as some of the reasons for the move.  Yet, he praised Broxah and owner Steve Arhancet for their continued support.  He said he didn’t want jungler Xmithie to leave nor did he sabotage TL’s performance intentionally.  He also claimed TL benched him without proper feedback.  The move ultimately came due to a variety of factors including a better bond with his TSM members. 

TL coach Dodo responded in a tweet saying that there were many 1-on-1 conversations with Doublelift regarding player feedback.  Dodo said he spoke to Doublelift about motivation issues and his attitude towards practice. These conversations happened both before and during the split. Dodo cited communication gaps and conflicts with teammates as reasons for the benching.

Kobbe Gets Dumped from Main Roster

Doublelift’s shift back to TSM means he is replacing Kobbe on their starting roster. Kobbe’s performance in the last split certainly wasn’t bad enough to get him replaced. When asked about the roster changes, during a VALORANT stream Kobbe said, “Nah guys, I didn’t want to leave because of my girlfriend. That’s a crazy conspiracy. “It’s not my decision so, of course, I didn’t want to leave.” TSM got Kobbe on a 4-split contract between seasons. They are looking to sell his contract now but most of the other teams have used up their import slots so he’s left in limbo.

A Conflict Of Interest?

Doublelift is currently in a relationship with TSM president Leena Xu and many believe this could be a potential conflict of interest. Thorin raised doubts in his video about compromises to the ‘competitive integrity of the game’, among other things. He exposed alleged screenshots of Leena talking about offering FC Schalke 04 money for throwing a match. An offer which they declined. 

Leena hit back, replying in a tweet “We did not approach the players directly, 100% went through management. The buyout that we offered was to Clutch and Shalke, not to the players themselves.” She called Thorin’s claims ‘fake news’ and FC Schalke 04’s coach Tim Reichert tweeted yesterday, backing Leena up. 

Riot has since looked into the allegations, with LCS Commissioner, Chris Greeley tweeting:

Many TSM and TL fans alike aren't happy with the way this whole scenario went down. Several questions still remain about how Doublelift will perform in the coming split and what will become of Kobbe.