Riot Games Concludes Investigation Against Cloud9 and G2 Esports’ Alleged Collusion

The League of Legends’ esports scene was drawn into controversy with reports of Cloud9 and G2 Esports colluding to prevent the transfer of Luka “Perkz” Perković to Fnatic. Riot Games immediately delved into the situation and its investigation concluded that there was no harm done to the player. The controversy was sparked after a clause, in G2 and Cloud9’s buyout agreement for Perkz, allegedly stated that he would not be able to transfer to Fnatic for three years, starting from November 2020 up until the 2023 season.

Riot Games’ statement on the current situation

A copy of Perkz’s buyout agreement was acquired by Dot Esports and it made the clause restricting the player’s transfer to Fnatic to be brought into the public spectrum. It led to Fnatic filing an official complaint to Riot Games despite the publisher approving the buyout agreement. The issue was escalated till it reached the global esports department which led to an official high-level investigation.

Riot stated earlier today, “As reported, the transfer agreement includes a provision preventing C9 from freely transferring Perkz to FNC. Onward transfer restrictions is a novel issue within the professional LoL Esports ecosystem. Our current rules governing player transfers do not explicitly prohibit restrictions on future transfers by the receiving team, so we will not penalize G2 and C9 for including such a clause in their agreement.”

But the publisher made it clear that it does not intend to enforce the trade restriction and Perkz would be free to transfer to any team as long as proper paperwork is done in accordance to League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) regulations. Riot will not involve itself in the enforcement of the restriction as it is a private contractual matter between Cloud9 and G2 Esports.

LCSPA opens independent investigation

The League of Legends Championship Series Players Association (LCSPA) has opened an investigation into the matter and will be sharing its findings in the near future. The organization is independently investigating the circumstances of this report and “will fight any agreement that illegally or unethically restricts player movement or alters player bargaining power.”