Brexit: UK eSports scene reacts

brexit uk esports scene rea 1

The UK will be pulling out of the European Union after it voted by 52% to 48% to leave the EU.
David Cameron has stepped down as Prime Minister, the value of the pound has fallen and people have taken to Facebook to argue – and ask if there’s now going to be UK League of Legends servers (sigh).
eSports News UK asked people in the scene for their reaction. Here’s a selection of responses and other comments made on Twitter:

So how will the Brexit affect UK eSports?

As pointed out above, it will be more of a hurdle for UK players to secure work permits and visas in other European countries.
The same goes for existing British pros based outside of the UK, such as KaSing, who may face ‘visa issues’ later on.
eSports Observer has written a more detailed post outlining some of the laws in this area.
eSports lawyer Jas Purewal says that the UK scene could miss out on funding after pulling out of the EU.
The site also points out that leaving the EU means industries will face reduced trade and sale rates (at least in the short term).
For example, PVPLive points out that UK League fans wanting to buy merch from Riot’s European online store are going to be paying a bit more now. The store accepts Euros, and after the value of the pound fell following the leave vote, this means fans will get less bang for their buck.
PVPLive also asked the question: could pros from the UK take up foreign agency limits (two per team) in the EU LCS?
Apparently not. “EU, in this case, is just shorthand for Europe, not European Union. And native residency in the EU LCS is defined a little differently,” the site states. “Page five of the LCS  2016 Official Rules defines the LCS division in Europe as the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, excepting Russia, Turkey and other regions with dedicated servers.
“The UK hasn’t divorced itself from the Council.”
But it’s hard to over-analyse the situation at the moment. Like The Telegraph points out, Britain hasn’t left the EU before – the road ahead is unclear.
It could also take a few years to leave the EU. Triggering Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon notifies the UK’s intention to withdraw and starts a two-year clock running. After that, the Treaties that govern EU membership will no longer apply to Britain. The hard part is striking new trade agreements with Europe as a non-EU member.
There are uncertain times ahead. But eSports is a bold and brave emerging sector, and we’re sure it will be striving forwards whether the UK is a part of the EU or not.
Oh, and the Brexit doesn’t mean we’re going to be getting any dedicated UK League of Legends servers!
uk-lol-servers
 
Image credit: Alberto Villén

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