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League of Legends European Championship has just concluded the 2023 Season Finals and as it turns out, this was the last opportunity to field players who are under 18 years old.
According to LEC Wooloo's sources, the minimum required age for participation in the league and associated tournaments will be moved up to 18 from the next season although the reasons were not made public.
This move from Riot Games' side enraged some fans as they started asking uncomfortable questions.
Namely, the running theory why the age requirement is being moved is that LEC will start taking sponsorships from gambling, alcohol or crypto companies or any combination of the three categories.
None of them are appropriate for people under 18, which would explain Riot's actions.
Naturally, that did not mellow the fans down as the future talent development will suffer at the hands of marketing once again, likely meaning that the gap between Eastern and Western teams will just keep getting bigger.
Ultimately, this leads to less interest in the World Championships and MSI tournaments, which is harmful for the entire ecosystem. On top of that, the fans are already unhappy with Riot previously taking the FTX deal, the same company that pushed crypto mining which deservedly has negative connotations in the gaming community.
