Dutch Athlete Sues Riot Over League of Legend Skin And Wins

When is an homage not an homage? When it makes money -- that's when it becomes an opportunity.

Retired Dutch footballer (or "soccer player," depending on where you live) Edgar Davids recently won a court case in the Netherlands against Riot Games for using his likeness in a skin for one of League of Legends' champions.

The Striker Lucian skin does bear a resemblance to Davids, with his dreadlocks, eyewear, and apparent athletic skill, and a Riot employee apparently posted on Twitter (since deleted) around the time of the skin's release that "Striker Lucian was inspired by soccer pro Edgar Davids."

As a result, Riot will now have to compensate Davids a portion of the earnings that the Striker Lucian skin has made in the Netherlands since its release in 2014, Dutch site Het Parool reports.

As Kotaku points out, Davids didn't seem to have a problem with the skin when it first released, thanking Riot for making a skin in his likeness:

Thank youRT @GY4TSO @riotgames @LeagueOfLegends I think @esdavids noticed the resemblance!

— edgar davids (@esdavids) June 6, 2014

More than likely, once he realized video games make money -- and in League's case, a lot of money -- he changed his tune. Here's hoping nobody tells him about Overwatch.