Riot loses lawsuit over League of Legends 'Striker Lucian' skin

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Former soccer pro Edgar Davids said the skin was based on him, and a Dutch court agreed.

The League of Legends champion Lucian, as described in his official profile, "wields relic weapons imbued with ancient power and stands a stalwart guardian against the undead. His cold conviction never wavers, even in the face of the maddening horrors he destroys beneath his hail of purifying fire. Lucian walks alone on a grim mission: to purge the spirits of those ensnared in undeath, his eternal beloved among them." 

That's pretty heavy stuff, but he's not all grim and grit. He also seems to have an affinity for sports, especially soccer, if his Striker Lucian skin is anything to go by. But that skin has landed LoL developer Riot Games in a spot of trouble, as former pro soccer player Edgar Davids filed—and won—a lawsuit against the company, alleging that it's based on his likeness. 

According to a report on Dutch site Het Parool (Google translated), Riot argued that the similarities between the skin and the real person weren't as great as Davids claimed, and that LoL players wouldn't confuse the two. The court saw the situation somewhat differently, however, no doubt at least partly thanks to  this tweet from 2014 by former Riot QA analyst Baconhawk.

The judge in the case ordered Riot to reveal to auditors how much money the Striker Lucian skin has earned, and will determine Davids' compensation based on that. A Riot rep declined to comment on the case. 

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.