LEC to be boycotted by Karmine Corp fan club "Le Blue Wall"
Karmine Corp’s infamous fan club, LeBlueWall, has called for a boycott from all Karmine Corp supporters for the LEC. As outlined in their most recent communiqué, the body intends to boycott all LEC events and to stop viewing all games outside of Karmine Corp matches moving forwards until their concerns have been met and discussed.
This boycott has the potential to heavily impact the LEC’s standing as a product in terms of eyes. Karmine Corp and their large fan-following played an instrumental role in breaking several viewership records in 2024. Their sudden boycott could see an immediate drop in viewing numbers; both in-studio and on the LEC streaming platforms.
However, seeing as Karmine Corp only just joined the LEC this year, it is unlikely that the drop will be felt long term or place the studio in an unrecoverable position.
Read More: LEC Winter Split 2024 Breaks New Viewer Peak in Spain vs France Clash
Le Blue Wall Protests
According to the communiqué, the club LeBlueWall intends to boycott all LEC events and desist viewing of all non-Karmine Corp games heading into the future until as they outlined, ‘steps are taken’ to ‘remedy the situation.’
‘Despite unwavering commitment, we are dismayed to see that fans are often treated inappropriately and with contempt in the very arena where they should feel most welcome. Excessive security measures, unjustified restrictions, and a lack of consideration for supporters’ needs are all signs of blatant disregard for our community.’
So goes the communiqué. They go on to extend an invitation not just to all their members, but all supporters of Karmine Corp to boycott the LEC events, even going so far as to threaten sanctions on individual members who choose to continue travelling to the LEC studio in Berlin and bring back/display LeBlueWall merchandise.
Unfair Treatment of Fans
While at this time it is unknown in what manner exactly the communiqué is referencing the mistreatment of their members and fans, the club LeBlueWall and its members have long garnered an unsavoury reputation within the community for their aggressive approaches towards other members of the League of Legends community both in-person and online on social media forums such as Twitter/X.
Therefore, knee-jerk reactions to this claim from the club tend to side against them as many have witnessed first-hand their mentality with regards to their team – Karmine Corp – and against fans of other teams especially when it regarded negative conversations on their team or players.
According to Caedrel, the following actions by the fans are what is being referenced in the communiqué:
- Fans attempted to handshake with the players (against security measures)
- Reported threats by individuals fans to destroy the LEC studio at the start of the LEC season (back when they joined)
Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
Read More: MSI 2024 Tier List: All Teams