Riot built a respectable IP and stable ESport scene, other minor ESport scenes completely dissolved (HotS) while Major Esport scenes (Dota 2) had to resort to introducing Gambling ads and Saudi Arabia sponsorships amidst steady declining viewership just to stay afloat.
Meanwhile League’s ESport is still going strong and continues breaking worldwide viewership records. Sure there was the whole NEOM debacle with the LEC but the end result was Riot walking out of the deal and thats what matters.
So Riot Games have my utmost respect for how they managed their ESport scene despite all the troubles and challenges without relying on easy but immoral investors and sponsors.
Having your staff go on strike to prevent a NEOM merger isn’t the Riot triumph you’re describing it as. It’s like calling Amazon respectable for caving to workers demands for better wages.
The LEC casters/staff are the ones who stopped Riot. Not Riot themselves.