Rumors About Moonton’s Exclusivity Spark Social Media Controversy
Alleged reports of Moonton’s new exclusivity contract for several esports organizations sparked a social media controversy as organizations may be required to drop their respective League of Legends: Wild Rift (WR) rosters in order to compete at official Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) events.
Several Esports orgs including @bigetronesports may be required to release their Wild Rift rosters as a result of signing an exclusivity contract with Moonton, restricting them to be able to compete only in @MobileLegendsOL and thus are denied the right to field a #WildRift team
— Wild Rift Esports News (@WRCompetitive) July 8, 2021
Initially reported by Wildrift Esports News, several esports organizations like Indonesia’s leading esports organization, Bigetron Esports, are allegedly required to release their WR rosters as a result of signing an exclusivity contract with MLBB’s game publisher. This meant that esports organizations will be restricted to play only at MLBB tournaments and are prevented from competing in WR tournaments.
Been receiving multiple enquiries regarding WR teams in Indonesia. We would like to reassure our players that Riot SEA does not restrict WR SEA esports teams from participating in other mobile esports leagues, & we empower our teams to exercise freedom of choice in this space.
FEATURED STORIES— Ban “ChisinX” Chee (@chisinRPL) July 8, 2021
While not explicitly directed on the allegations, WR Esports Manager for Riot Games SEA, Ban “ChisinX” Chee, tweeted that they would not be restricting esports organizations from competing in other mobile esports leagues.
“We would like to reassure our players that Riot SEA does not restrict WR SEA esports teams from participating in other mobile esports leagues, & we empower our teams to exercise freedom of choice in this space,” ChisinX stated.
Team Secret’s CEO John Yao also commented on the controversy in his personal Facebook account. In his Facebook post, Yao stated that Moonton’s move was counterintuitive for the esports ecosystem.
“[The exclusivity contract] cannot be good from a healthy ecosystem or competitive integrity standpoint,” Yao stated. “Even for orgs, investing in multiple games is integral to survival, so I certainly hope [Moonton] is paying really well enough to justify signing away exclusivity.”
Esports organizations that may be affected by this exclusivity contract include Alter Ego, Onic Esports, RRQ, Nexplay Esports, Evos Esports, Bigetron Esports, Geek Fam, and Smart Omega. So far, Moonton has yet to release a statement on this matter.
Clarification: Execration has since released their WR team 2 months ago.
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