Deman returning to League of Legends to cast LCS Summer Playoffs

After years away from casting League of Legends, Leigh “Deman” Smith is returning to the game.

Speaking on Twitter, the longtime commentator and host revealed that he will be hosting an official cast for the LCS Summer Playoffs semifinals. Dan “Foxdrop” Wyatt will serve as his co-host.

Deman was a popular League of Legends caster for the European LCS, today known as League of Legends European Championship. Though fans enjoyed his work, he decided to step down from his position in late 2014 when Riot Games moved its studio from Cologne to Berlin, Germany. Longtime League fans may remember his energetic performance at the Season 3 World Championship.

After leaving League of Legends, Deman began working with ESL as a commentator and analyst for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch tournaments. During that time, he worked a number of prominent events including the ESL One: Katowice 2015 and ESL One: Cologne 2015 majors. He was also a regular personality at Overwatch tournaments before the formation of the Overwatch League, appearing at tournaments such as the 2016 ESL Overwatch Atlantic Showdown and 2016 Overwatch World Cup.

While many are excited for his return, the news was not unanimously well-received.

Deman will be casting the event on Caffeine, a newer streaming platform Riot has recently partnered up with. While some fans are excited by the fact he is returning, others took umbrage with the fact he will be working on Caffeine rather than the more-popular Twitch.

Though Riot has chosen them as a partner, fans have not taken kindly to Caffeine’s mandatory account creation and occasionally choppy streams.

The Playoffs semifinals are happening on the weekend of August 18. Cloud9 will be facing Counter Logic Gaming for a spot in the finals, while Clutch Gaming will look to upset top-ranked LCS squad Team Liquid.