Should the game be balanced around the highest level of play (elite professional tournaments: 1%) or for the average joe who makes up a majority of the player base (99%)?

Take the recent akali nerf for example. According to Scarra, "This seems largely like a balance change for lower level players and not something that I welcome." Assassins like Akali (or old Kat) wreck havoc in lower tiers when they have resourceless high burst in the early game causing them to easily snowball. Riot addressed the issue by "increase her early game risk."

So this nerf will supposedly rein in runaway Akalis destroying low ELO games, making the lives of the larger player base happier.

But if you balance the game by 'watering-down' champions or play-styles to make it easier on the less skilled, how does that affect the multi-million dollar eSports spectacle and pro-players like Scarra who "don't welcome" these types of nerfs?

Can Riot actually balance the game for both camps at the same time, and if not, who takes priority: the casual players who spend tons of RP or the professional scene that bring in numerous sponsors?

At the end of the day, Riot is a company/business and will be looking out for their bottom-line interest but must leverage these decisions while facing their potential longevity. Perhaps these akali type of nerfs is their way of "throwing a bone" to the base community, while the FortPot and 5potion nerfs are aimed more at increasing the 'spectacle' at the pro-level.