"It has just begun": Fnatic's League of Legends coach fears possibility of more organizations selling/rebranding in the LEC and LCS

Misfits Gaming's departure from League of Legends' LEC is one of the biggest news in the community. The organization sold its LEC spot to Team Heretics and will no longer be part of the tournament from 2023 onwards.

This news shocked the entire community because Misfits Gaming was quite a good organization in the competitive League of Legends. However, according to Fnatic's head coach Yamato, fans should prepare themselves as Misfits Gaming will not be the last organization to do this.

He commented on his Twitter account:

"This aint the end of rebranding/selling of orgs in lcs/lec, it has just begun"

This leads to a question on what might be happening within the western League of Legends scene that is prompting organizations to make such drastic decisions.

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Professionals claim that the 2022 off-season might witness some of the biggest changes in western League of Legends history

Misfits Gaming selling its LEC spot to Team Heretics was massive news for several League of Legends fans worldwide. However, like Yamato, other professionals feel that a lot will change in the game's competitive scene once the 2022 off-season officially starts.

According to former TSM general manager Parth Naidu:

"This is the beginning of what I expect to be one of the craziest off-seasons in western competitive League of Legends history"

It is no coincidence that several League of Legends professionals are suddenly coming out and making statements like this just after the Misfits departure was announced. The winds of change are incoming, and people have already hinted at the same within the professional scene.

However, fans might wonder what might be the reason behind organizations selling their spots. Misfits Gaming is no World Champion, but it was a great organization that has harbored some great players in the past.

While it is tough to mention the exact reason why Misfits Gaming left. Ideally, the reason for such a thing happening is financial disbalance. It is important to remember that most esports organizations do not make much money.

Only a few like Cloud9, G2 Esports, Team Liquid, Fnatic, 100 Thieves, and a few others are stable from a financial viewpoint. In most cases, esports teams rely heavily on sponsorships, merchandise sales, streaming content, and a big fanbase to survive. Esports are risky, and even in 2022, the same has not changed.

However, those things will not happen if the team is not showing up on the biggest stage. For instance, at least in the League of Legends scene, the chances of someone becoming a fan of G2 Esports, T1, or Team Liquid is higher than a team like SK Gaming or Astralis.

The problem is that, unlike football, where fans support a club because they belong in that particular city, in esports, the fanbase primarily arises through victories and trophies. If an organization is not winning, the chances are that it will struggle to generate revenue.

It is also crucial to remember that traditional sports teams generate money by selling their media rights. In the case of esports teams, however, the matches are live streamed on Twitch, a free platform. Apart from that, the chances of someone buying a Manchester United or Liverpool t-shirt are way higher than someone purchasing a Fnatic t-shirt.

Thus, unless the team is successful, the organization will be forced to sell its spot to someone else. It is possible that the market is not very stable right now, and several bottom-tier League of Legends teams might be struggling financially, which is why selling/rebranding might be on its way within the competitive western scene.