In the history of the professional League of Legends scene, many teams have emerged and many names have disappeared. Some teams even reached the pinnacle of glory, but for various reasons, they underwent mergers, name changes, or were acquired… Of course, this is an inevitable law of Esports – a sport that has not yet received as much investment as traditional sports and lacks the massive fan base of sports like football or athletics.
But even in a region considered to have a strong Esports foundation, a team once seen as the pride of League of Legends in the area is now in dire straits. This team even has plans to release NFTs, relying on fans to sustain its existence, and it is predicted that it will not escape from debt and heavy losses in the next eight months. Once regarded as the “Galaxy” of League of Legends in China, and the “nightmare” of T1 at MSI by continuously defeating Faker and his teammates, that team is the “Royal Never Give Up”.
Recently, in an interview, the CEO of the team admitted: “The reality is that we have hit rock bottom. It’s not about going bankrupt in 100 days as reported outside; we could go bankrupt immediately. The issue is not about a lack of money, but rather heavy losses, with debts in the tens of billions of VND, along with numerous contract violations. Monthly operational costs reach millions, of which 80-90% are payments to players.”
According to the CEO, RNG’s current situation stems from many reasons, including fines, contract violations, unpaid salaries to former players, and payments to new players… Furthermore, the CEO stated that RNG has never had a positive profit. Previous operations were simply funded by investors. Not to mention, this team does not have good results, so prize money is further diluted.
If RNG really could disappear from the global League of Legends map, it would be a pity. They are the team that frequently appeared during the times when SKT T1/T1 were at their peak and defeated Faker’s squad. But RNG’s case also highlights the harshness of the professional Esports environment in general and League of Legends in particular, especially during such a complex economic period as now.