G2 Esports has denied allegations it’s poaching players from other teams. In an article published by VPEsports, unnamed sources claim that G2 Esports’ players Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković has been contacting multiple players on behalf of the organisation, without using appropriate channels and while they were under contract at rival teams. G2 has since issued an official statement regarding these claims.
Several European League of Legends Championship Series teams are said to be in the process of issuing a formal complaint to developer Riot Games over the issue, which reportedly dates back to 2016 and may also relate to the acquisition of two of G2’s current team members.
In a statement issued to VPEsports, a G2 representative said that “Perkz has never contacted players under contract with other teams on the behalf of G2.” H2K Gaming, whose player Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu was reportedly approached by Perkz, told Dot Esports that “we have raised concerns regarding poaching with Riot a number of times. This particular situation refers to H2K and we will have something to say about this as well.”
Previous punishments for poaching have been relatively light. The most Riot has ever charged a guilty party is $10,000 (£7,871) – CLG and Team Dragon Knights were both fined for separate approaches of players and coaches who were currently under contract.
We’ve reached out to H2K Gaming, G2 Esports, and Perkovic’s management about this report, and will update with further information.
When we reached out to Fnatic, we were directed to a statement posted on Twitter by co-owner and CGO Patrik Sättermon. He says that “in regards to recent rumours, Fnatic has not nor will submit any formal complaint to Riot regarding poaching in LCS/LEC.”
When we approached Riot for comment, they told us that “At this time the League Office has not received any formal complaints from any LEC teams. A single complaint was voiced towards the League by another party, but it concerns events that occurred well outside the respective limitation period. The Limitation Period of a rule violation determines how long an offence is punishable and therefore is subject to a formal League investigation. Regarding Caps, Fnatic have signed an Availability Declaration Form (blank form can be found attached to the Rulebook as Exhibit C) allowing him to talk to all teams since the 9th of November.”