The Chinese government’s implementation of a law limiting gaming hours for minors is predicted to have many negative impacts on the country’s esports scene. Recently, one of the signs of this “crisis” has appeared, as the League of Legends second-tier tournament in China – LDL, has been forced to urgently postpone to change its roster.
Specifically, the LDL Summer 2021 Playoffs semifinals have had to be rescheduled from September 2-3 to September 6, while the finals have also been pushed back from September 7 to September 8. The reason is that the participating teams must make roster adjustments, removing all players under 18 years old from their lineups and applying for “emergency roster additions.”
Riot China will facilitate roster adjustments for LDL teams by expanding the scope for supplementary player selection. Teams will be allowed to register free agents, borrow players from teams that have been eliminated, or players registered in the LPL who have played no more than 5 games in the Summer 2021 tournament.
However, each team can only register a maximum of 2 supplementary players; the rest must be filled with available names, with the most important condition being that the player must be at least 18 years old.
It is known that LDL is originally a tournament for youth teams, where young talents of League of Legends in China compete to gain experience in a professional environment. But with the age restriction preventing gamers under 18 from playing more than 3 hours a day, this platform can no longer accommodate players aged 16-17 to compete.