In recent years, LCK has gained a reputation for producing many talented young players. For instance, the players who just won the 2023 World Championship, such as Oner, Zeus, and Gumayusi, are all homegrown talents from T1. More recently, we have Peyz, who was discovered by Gen.G when he was still a young talent and trained to become the star he is today.
However, what’s alarming is that Gen.G’s CEO, Arnold, recently posted an article revealing a troubling shortage of talent in the LCK specifically and League of Legends in general. According to the “big boss” of Gen.G, leaders of major teams in the LCK are very worried about this situation. CEO Arnold even revealed that they (Gen.G) can find 3-4 times more talent in VALORANT compared to League of Legends.
“I recently had discussions with owners, coaches, and even players from teams in the LCK. We are quite worried about the lack of talent for League of Legends, even in South Korea. When I talk about talent, I mean at the trainee level, before they make it to the second team and become stars like Quid, Delight, or Peyz.
More and more young gamers with natural talent and the ability to compete professionally are choosing other games instead of League of Legends. For example, we could have a potential pool of professional-level talent in the future that is 3-4 times higher in Valorant compared to League of Legends,” CEO Arnold shared.
Not only Gen.G’s CEO, but even Riot has recently confirmed a similar issue with League of Legends in general. According to a statement to PC Gamers, Riot revealed that the average age of League of Legends players is increasing while the number of new players is significantly decreasing. Clearly, as fewer newcomers choose to stick with League of Legends, the number of young talents that professional teams can scout will also decline.
According to Riot’s insights, the main reason for this situation is that gamers have too many choices aside from League of Legends. It’s important to note that League of Legends is becoming increasingly complex and difficult for new players to approach as the amount of game knowledge required has become overwhelming. Furthermore, in recent years, League of Legends has also released new champions and items, making this already massive amount of knowledge even more daunting.
In contrast, VALORANT, being a first-person shooter (FPS) game, is much easier to approach. Additionally, the abilities of agents in VALORANT are designed quite simply, and players can understand them in a short amount of time. Therefore, it’s understandable that many new gamers are choosing to play VALORANT over League of Legends.
Fairly speaking, League of Legends still boasts a huge loyal player base. Moreover, the youth training systems of teams (especially in the LCK) are receiving more attention following the success of homegrown talents like Zeus, Gumayusi, and Peyz. Therefore, in the short term, the shortage of new players may not have a significant impact.
However, if this situation continues for an extended period, it could have negative effects on the professional League of Legends scene. The quality of tournaments might decline when old stars retire without worthy replacements. Hopefully, Riot Games and esports organizations will soon take necessary measures to address this “talent drought” in League of Legends.