Introduction: The S15 season has come to an end, and the majority of players have been following the offseason closely. All major regions have finalized their team restructures, leading into the thrilling entertainment matches. LCK has seen a surge in attention recently, primarily due to their introduction of a pay-to-watch system, which is priced on the higher side. Currently, the main event is the K Cup, and it seems the LCK league itself hasn't been significantly affected yet. Many insiders from the LPL side have tried to overcome this issue, but no LPL player can watch the livestreams—not even those who frequently broadcast LCK matches—because the strongest legal team on the Blue Star platform is truly formidable.

Is LCK Abandoning the LPL Market?

Most players are quite familiar with LCK, widely recognized as one of the world's top-tier regions. Over recent years, LCK's growth has been rapid and their achievements increasingly impressive, having won the world championship multiple years in a row. With the development of the league system, LCK’s expenses have grown significantly, especially in terms of top player salaries, including those on the T1 team. Currently, most LCK teams are operating at a financial deficit. Recently, the LCK K Cup has become a hot topic among players, as it is the first League of Legends esports event to implement paid viewing, marking a pioneering move in esports. If successful, many other tournaments are likely to follow this path.

It was expected that this event would be similar to the previous Asian Games, with some top domestic players streaming it and platforms purchasing broadcast rights. However, no one anticipated that this K Cup might truly be inaccessible to LPL players. Fans following LCK know that Sask is a professional LCK broadcaster who usually gains significant attention during LCK matches. Before the K Cup started, he publicly stated he would try every possible way to get free access for his fans, willing to pay himself just to make them happy.

It was thought to be relatively easy and similar to previous LCK events, but this time it turned out to be a complete failure. He mentioned that he had already spent three hours trying before, then another two hours, totaling over five hours of effort, yet still couldn’t broadcast. Disney Plus proved too powerful to bypass. He tried nearly every method to log in, but couldn't even open their paid website, leaving no chance to purchase viewing rights. This means LCK’s K Cup has completely given up on LPL viewers, offering no opportunities for LPL players. Honestly, if it were open, there would likely be some paying fans from LPL.

Everyone knows Disney is considered the strongest legal force on Blue Star. Even if someone wanted to buy broadcasting rights, no platform would allow them to air it. No one can withstand the pressure from this legal team; even Nanshan Pizza struggles before them. This is just the beginning of the event. Although the K Cup and LCK are not exactly the same entity, it marks a start. The LPL fan base is huge, but LCK hasn’t had much real consumer spending from them. If LCK truly abandons this market, it probably won’t affect their top players much. As long as LCK players perform well, they will still attract many fans.

Farewell Thoughts

No one expected that this time the LCK competition would completely sever ties with the LPL. Many broadcasting professionals have tried, but so far the responses are similar: watching the K Cup is simply impossible. It’s unclear why such a large audience would be abandoned. Perhaps the organizers realize that if they opened access to LPL, massive piracy would ensue. Given the enormous fan base, even the strongest legal team would struggle to track down all infringements, so they decided to block access altogether.

What do all of you viewers think about this situation?