Korean League of Legends Pro League (LPL) veteran, Lee ‘Scout’ Ye-chan, has been fined ¥33,515,162.44 (~£3,481,57.83) in a court hearing earlier today.
Scout will now have to pay previous salaries, interest, and legal fees, which amount to more than double the prize pool of last year’s World Championship of $2,250,000 (~£1,679,996).
This comes after an extensive contract dispute with former team EDward Gaming (EDG), which was first mentioned just before the 2024 World Championship.
Scout’s contract dispute with EDG
The dispute began at the start of 2022 when Scout moved to LPL team, LNG Esports, from former team EDG.
All seemed to be normal however behind the scenes there were disputes which later evolved into a lawsuit.
EDG claimed that Scout was still contractually bound to the team and therefore couldn’t transfer.
Opposed to this, Scout’s management agency argued that this was not the case.
Despite the ongoing lawsuit, Scout continued to compete with new team LNG Esports for the 2023-2024 seasons.
This became an issue when LNG Esports were set to compete at the 2024 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship in Europe.
Thanks to the ongoing legal dispute, a travel ban was placed on Scout.
LNG Esports found an emergency replacement in JD Gaming’s Zeng ‘Yagao’ Qi.
This came with its own controversy as the substitution was made after the roster lock in deadline.
Eventually, Scout was able to compete at the 2024 World Championship thanks to players such as Park ‘Ruler’ Jae-hyuk paying part of the legal fees.
It was reported that Chen ‘GALA’ We also contributed after selling his house, however this was unconfirmed.
After being knocked out at the quarterfinals, Scout returned to the LPL with JD Gaming.
He would also continue his lawsuit with EDG until the court sentencing which concluded yesterday morning.
The court was in favour of EDG and ordered Scout to repay EDG three years of his salary as well as interest and legal fees.
The total amount is the equivalent of two World Championships at ~£3,481,57.83.
The court has also frozen Scout’s bank account and restricted his travel once again.
Consequences for Scout and his management
It should be noted that Scout has built up a reputation amongst LPL fans.
Back in 2021 he had made an agreement with South Korean team, KT Rolster to compete with them in 2022.
This was again in breach of his contract with EDG, however they had agreed to overlook the incident at the time.
It was also claimed that Scout and his management did not notify LNG Esports of his travel ban during his tenure on the team.
Moving forward to the end of 2024, Scout left LNG Esports with all of the baggage of his travel ban.
Leaving LNG Esports with the loans that paid for his legal fees, which the team will have to recover from.
Adding insult to injury, it was later claimed by EDG’s founder that Scout’s agency knowingly manipulated public opinion.
Using it against EDG to cause the team further issues.
EDG founder, Zhu ‘Edward’ Yi-Hang said on a livestream that, “[Scout’s management] said if [EDG] don’t handle the Scout situation properly, they will use public opinion as a tool against us. [They] told me that, explicitly.”
However, Scout’s management agency has since responded through social media.
Stating that “Throughout the lawsuit process, EDG has interfered with his application for a work visa, seized his personal bank account, and banned him from leaving the country.”
It’s also unclear whether the players that contributed to Scout’s attendance at the 2024 World Championship will be compensated.
While not legally obliged, netizens have pointed out this issue online.
Meanwhile, other netizens have joked that Scout’s fans could easily pay the fine for the player.
“Now Scout has 740,000 fans on Weibo. If Scout’s fans each pay at least $6 (USD), he will soon be able to pay off the money he owes EDG.”
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Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with many incredible individuals who continue to humble me to this day. Because of them, I’ve had the energy to turn a hobby into a career. I work to honour those who have given me a chance and thrive thanks to the community.
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