Le Blue Wall, a notable fan club of French esports organisation Karmine Corp, has called for the team’s supporters to boycott watching the League of Legends European Championship (LEC).
On May 13th, 2024, the fan club released a statement intending to boycott all LEC events ‘until further notice.’
According to the statement, Le Blue Wall will not attend any upcoming LEC events and urges fans of the organisation to only watch matches that feature Karmine Corp. This is due to the fan club alleging that its fans have been mistreated when attending matches at Riot Games’ LEC Studio in Berlin, Germany.
The statement has caused mixed responses from the wider League of Legends community with notable names such as former G2 Esports Head Coach Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann and streamer Marc Robert ‘Caedrel’ Lamont commenting on the matter. Lamont, in particular, noted that Karmine Corp fans would attempt to get closer to the pro players to shake their hands, which is against security measures.
Exact details on situations that have caused friction between the fan club and Riot Games were not mentioned in the statement. According to sections of the community, the complaint looks to be centred around the fan club being unhappy with player access and issues surrounding Karmine Corp’s unofficial mascot Peepo.
Founded in 2021, Le Blue Wall is a fan club inspired by ultras, a group of fans renowned for their fanatical support of an organisation. The club often organises events where fans can watch Karmine Corp compete across the titles it fields rosters in.
Karmine Corp is one of the biggest esports organisations in France due to its sheer popularity in the country. During the 2024 LEC Spring split, the organisation featured in two of the five most-watched matches of the split.
As one of the more popular teams in the LEC, it’s unclear how the boycott will impact viewing figures. Despite finishing last during the 2024 Spring split, the organisation managed to have the second-highest number of average viewers across the split, totalling 328,500 viewers. This figure was second only to G2 Esports.
In response to the boycott, Karmine Corp CEO Arthur Perticoz shared a statement on X: “A meeting on this subject will take place with Riot Games on Wednesday (May 15th, 2024) in order to find solutions.
“We hope to find a more fluid communication channel in the future between the publisher, the organisation, and the fans.”
