Gen.G CEO Arnold Hur sounded the alarm on League of Legends esports, claiming that Riot Games’ current structure is completely unsustainable. It’s at the point where teams are looking for buyers and can’t get any bids.
Bear in mind, this isn’t within the ailing LCS either, but the LCK and LPL — the esport’s most prestigious and successful leagues. While China’s league not doing so well is no surprise, considering bottom teams are trying to exit as fast as they can, Korea having a rough go of things is much more dire.
In an interview with TraYtoN, Arnold described not only the issues teams are having with staying afloat, but also the problem with how teams have adapted.
With the way things are, winning is less profitable than losing for most teams according to Arnold. What was originally meant as a Riot lifeline for teams to be able to sustain operations has become the only reason some teams are staying afloat.
Losing is More Cost-Effective Than Winning
Solving the esports sustainability problem is a difficult proposition. If teams aren’t winning consistently, they probably won’t have fans. But if only one team can win and everyone spends big, then the entire league sinks with how high salaries have gotten.
“The biggest problem that I see right now in League of Legends is that there’s no incentive – the incentives are not aligned with you wanting to make a competitive team. I’ll make more profit creating a losing team in League of Legends than I would creating a winning team. That’s a messed up system,” Arnold explained.
He wants to see salary caps implemented to make the ecosystem healthier and make it easier for teams to build a competitive roster. Unless you’re T1, it’s not affordable.
“It doesn’t make sense for people just to lose money and be a competitive team to gain fans. The other option is just to not do anything, sit there, and collect a check from Riot.”
Out of Nongshim RedForce, OK BRION (previously Fredit Brion, hyFresh Blade, Brion Blade), and DN SOOPers (previously Afreeca Freecs, Kwangdong Freecs, DN Freecs), only one team has made it to Worlds: Afreeca Freecs in 2018. That’s it. These teams have been at the bottom for literal years at this point.
However, Nongshim RedForce is confirmed to be profitable. They’ve been sitting at the bottom for so long that they have funds to rebound in 2026 and build a real team. BRION and DN SOOPers have gone through all these rebrands for a reason: picking up title sponsors and getting more revenue.
There’s a good chance these bottom tier teams are doing better financially than teams that consistently get 3rd-5th by just running a low-budget operation, taking tons of sponsors, and collecting a check from Riot.
Nongshim is taking a clear risk in 2026 signing 2021 World Champion Lee “Scout” Ye-chan to pair with 2022 World Champion Hwang “Kingen” Seong-hoon, so it remains to be seen if being a rare exception to the trend Arnold pointed out pays off for them.
More Than Just a Paycheck
Though Arnold painted a grim picture, he’s got one great thing going with Gen.G: People trust them to win. According to him, he’s been able to keep superstar players at a lower price than other people are offering because they have a proven track record and great support staff.
While he didn’t disclose specific details, he did say that there are other teams that offered a lot more for Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu than Gen.G did. Leakers claimed that at one point, Canyon was seriously considering Hanwha Life Esports, though that never came to fruition.
“Canyon signed for a hell of a lot less than he needed to,” Arnold claimed. “I want to keep investing in a sport that I love. I want to keep trying to make winning rosters. Doesn’t mean we’ll always succeed, but right now, the incentive structure is not structured that way.
“You know, some of the greatest names in esports that we were hyped about? No longer there. TSM. 100 Thieves. RNG. It’s just gonna keep happening,” he explained.
It’s at the point where teams can’t sell their spots to anyone because no one wants to buy in.
“I’ve had three different teams in Asia, even in the LCK, approach me about trying to sell their team or buy their team. They couldn’t find any buyers. This is bad, man.”
While Arnold remains optimistic about the long-term potential of League of Legends as an esport, he also believes that changes are needed to put LoL esports on a path to sustainability for teams that aren’t already at the top or the bottom.
Carver Fisher
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