As previously known, Gen.G recently had a “self-destructive” media performance at the end of the 2023 season. This subsequently forced the reigning champion LCK to cancel all previously scheduled plans. At the same time, the crises and consequences can completely affect the LCK, not just Gen.G. For instance, in the very first Super Classic match of LCK Spring 2024, no community channel of LPL was permitted to broadcast. It is worth noting that a less exciting match prior, DRX vs. Nongshim RedForce, was broadcasted on 10 channels on the Bilibili platform.
However, the disaster may not stop there. According to a well-known streamer, Chân Thần, within the LPL community, not only could it be Gen.G, but the LCK might also be banned from the upcoming MSI 2024. For those who do not know, Riot has announced that this year’s MSI will be held in China. Thus, as the host region, the LPL has the right to request Riot to ban any team they feel does not meet their standards.
Of course, the streamer emphasized that this could only happen if Gen.G is the champion of LCK Spring 2024 or the runner-up. However, based on their performance against T1 in the opening match, the likelihood of Gen.G winning LCK Spring 2024 remains high, and they are definitely a strong candidate. Thus, the LCK may need to prepare for the possibility that the LPL could ban this region from the tournament or allow only one representative to participate.
However, according to the aforementioned streamer and many others from the LPL insider community, the only demand from this region is that Gen.G must receive appropriate punishment. Because, due to their violations, Gen.G has fundamentally breached Riot’s taboos by allowing external factors to influence the League of Legends environment. Yet, as of now, neither Riot nor the LCK organizers have taken any action related to the incident.
Therefore, the possibility of the LCK being “censored” from MSI 2024 is not too surprising. Not to mention, this year’s MSI will have a close relationship with the 2024 World Championship. The LCK organizers and Riot may need to take timely actions to resolve the situation between the two top regions of the League of Legends world immediately to prevent things from worsening in the future.