Image credit: LoL Esports
G2 Esports and League of Legends player Luka "Perkz" Perković are reportedly fielding offers that would allow the player to compete as a mid laner. According to investigative journalist Jacob Wolf, the team and the player have sought offers that would allow him to do so, but his enormous $5 million buyout currently stands in the way of a trade to Cloud9.
According to Wolf, several teams are exploring the possibility of signing Perkz: Misfits Gaming and Team Vitality in the LEC; and Team SoloMid, Cloud9, Evil Geniuses, and 100 Thieves have reported interest. Among them, Cloud9 stand above the pack with a "record-setting" salary and the possibility of reuniting with AD carry Jesper "Zven" Svenningsen.
However, his reported $5 million buyout clause makes transfers unrealistic at best, as teams not named TSM would be paying significant money to upgrade that position (with TSM filling the void left behind by Bjergsen's retirement). With a roadblock of this size, and with the world economy still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, a $5 million transfer could leave any team in significant debt (or cut deeply into its yearly profits).
Should reports of Perkz's discontent with his role as G2 Esports' AD carry have any substance, the current situation would be volatile at best as Rasmus "Caps" Winther holds the mid lane spot within the team. G2 have attempted to swap Perkz back to the mid lane in the 2020 season by sending Caps to the AD carry position, but it proved short-lived as teams such as MAD Lions exploited Caps's weakness at the role.
In its current state, G2 Esports' League of Legends division has five players under contract until Nov. 21, 2022 — each one being the best (or among the best) at their position in the LEC. A buyout of this size would be a signal that those players are unreachable until their contracts run out, unless the esports industry experiences a boom significant enough to bring player salary to football player levels (or to NBA levels) at the top.
