League of Legends Championship Series host and 2022 Esports Awards host of the year James ‘Dash’ Patterson has announced that he will not be returning to the LCS broadcast for the 2023 season.
Initially taking to Twitter to share the news, Dash says that the LCS is taking a “new direction” which doesn’t require a consistent host, leaving his current position at the helm redundant. However, he does note that he “will still be involved from time to time for key moments and some content”. His team remains “in active discussions” with League developer Riot Games to explore other avenues in which he can stay involved with the scene.
Having taken up a role at Riot a decade ago, Dash would eventually take on the role of then-NA LCS host in 2014. Since then, his passion, professionalism, and ability to run a desk like clockwork have continuously earned him plaudits from across the scene It is incredibly fitting, then, that he would finally take home the award for best host at last year’s Esports Awards.
Following the announcement, Dash delves deeper into the minutiae of what happened on a personal Twitch stream. According to Dash, the news that he would no longer be a part of the LCS “came out of the blue”, with the host finding out via a phone call from his agent as he pulled into work one morning during the LCS Playoffs.
While Dash will no longer be the face of the LCS, as he notes in his farewell statement he will still be around in some capacity. Additionally, in response to Cloud9 Valorant star Anthony ‘vanity’ Malaspina wishing to ‘bring him home’ to Riot’s FPS game, Dash says “all the producers in the Valorant space know that I’m free and available”, so we could see him Crossover at some point once again as he did in 2021.
Long-term, though, Dash’s future could lie outside of Riot altogether. As a trained actor, and having recently taken up streaming, there could yet be opportunities further afield.
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