SolaFide Esports disbands, pulls out of LCS Proving Grounds

Flying too close to the sun.

Photo via Riot Games

SolaFide Esports’ League of Legends roster, which was formed just two months ago, is no more due to alleged financial issues.

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“The LCS is in discussions with SolaFide and its players,” the LCS said. “In the meantime, the players have chosen to disband the team instead of participating in Proving Grounds.”

While no official reason has been provided for the breakup from the LCS, SolaFide, or its players, rumors surrounding the situation suggest that the players were not paid their promised high salaries.

Florida-based organization SolaFide made a statement entry into the League amateur scene with its signing of Not Academy Team, which included two former LCS pros in Zeyzal and Apollo. The org’s owner, Oddity, allegedly bragged about how much the players were getting paid on his Twitter account, which is now private at the time of writing, even disparaging other amateur teams in the process.

SolaFide’s disbandment means that there will be one more empty berth in the LCS Proving Grounds Spring 2021, a tournament featuring talented amateur teams facing off against Academy squads. Riot has reallocated SolaFide’s spot to the Last Chance Qualifier. Thus, three teams will qualify instead of two, extending the competition to five days.

Related: LCS introduces major changes to amateur and Academy leagues for 2021

The Proving Grounds Last Chance Qualifier is set to start on March 22 and will now end on March 26. Once the slots are filled, the main tournament begins on March 29, with action lasting until April 25.


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Author
Image of Dexter Tan Guan Hao
Dexter Tan Guan Hao
An e-sports, fiction, and comics fanatic through and through, you can find him sipping a nice, hot cup of tea while playing Dota 2 with the few friends that he has. Or don't find him at all. He'll prefer it that way.