After a wild 2021 World Championship, we're getting a just as wild off-season in League of Legends. Reports have come out that G2 and Cloud9 colluded to block Perkz from going to Fnatic. Are the reports true?
The 2021 League of Legends off-season has been turbulent. Rumors are running rampant in the community. Is Perkz leaving C9? Is Bjergsen joining Team Liquid, and is Doublelift making his comeback in 2022?
But now it’s gotten even more complicated with reports from Dotesports showing that the 2020 Perkz buyout may have had quite an interesting clause in it, which would prohibit him from joining Fnatic for three whole years.
We’ll go over the entire ordeal, what the various parties involved have stated, and what Riot has to say about the fiasco. So let’s jump into it.
Cloud9 and G2 Perkz Buyout Contract
According to Jacob Wolf from Dotesports, a clause in the agreement between G2 and Cloud9 would prevent Perkz from joining Fnatic for the foreseeable future. This clause was part of the 2020 buyout agreement between the two teams.
This was revealed to the public after Dotesports got a hold of a copy of the buyout agreement between the player and the two teams. Unlike in regular sports, where a buyout would mean that the new team takes charge of the existing contract, in esports, buyouts often mean that players will re-negotiate with the team they’re heading to.
How did Fnatic and Riot Games React to the No-Trade-Clause
Fnatic did file a complaint with the LEC office. This has since moved to the global office of Riot Games, since the contract was between an LCS and an LEC team. When the contract was looked over last year by the LCS, nothing seemed to be amiss and the contract was accepted as is.
Riot Global did investigate and look over the agreement after Fnatic raised the issue, but they did not think that this clause would restrict Perkz future team options. Jacob Wolf reported that the clause within the agreement did not limit Perkz options in the 2021/2022 off-season.
The LCS Player Association tweeted out, after these reports were made public, that they will conduct a private investigation on this matter as well to identify whether the agreement illegally restricts Perkz movement and bargaining power.
it makes senseC9 could have bought the player to then sell him to Fnatic on the same daywe made sure this cannot be donethis is standard and within the rules, as proven by the trade being approved globallyyou cant outplay me bitch. https://t.co/hDLpo3sa8F
— CarlosR ocelote (@CarlosR) November 10, 2021
Did G2 and C9 Comment on this Matter?
Cloud9 has not made any statements in regard to the contract yet, while G2 owner Ocelote stated that this clause was added into the contract to keep Perkz from being sold off to Fnatic the next day after the agreement with Cloud9 was signed.
Who was in the right, and who was in the wrong here? Did this contract restrict Perkz’ future in the LEC? Let us know on Discord.
Where Will Perkz go in 2022?
Perkz will likely be back in the LEC in 2022. As stated in previous reports, the mid laner told C9 that he wanted to return to Europe to be closer to his family. Most rumors point to him joining Vitality along with Team Liquid top laner Alpahri.
Whether this is true will be seen once November 15 hits and most contracts expire. Free agency is wild, and this year just seems to be even wilder than before, with new super teams being built in the LEC and LCS.