Multiple League of Legends players disciplined during 2018 World Championship
L: LoLEsportsMultiple professional League of Legends players and staff have received warnings or fines for negative behavior.
Following routine behavior checks, Riot Games found that sixteen players and coaching staff had exhibited negative behavior in solo queue on the Korean server.
Of those sixteen, twelve have been issued formal warnings for negative behavior, including griefing or toxic language. These include three members of Vitality, two of G2 Esports, two of Invictus Gaming, two of Afreeca Freecs, and one each of Cloud9, Gambit, and EDward Gaming.
In addition, four individuals have been issued fines for their behavior. Most notable among these is Royal Never Give Up’s super-star AD Carry Jian ‘Uzi’ Zihao, one of the best and most popular players in the world, whose fine is also the most significant.
Uzi has been fine $2000 for griefing, intentionally feeding, and doing so on an account that did not belong to him. Meanwhile, Gambit Esports jungler Danil ‘Diamondprox’ Reshetnikov and Invictus Gaming top-laner Kang ‘TheShy’ Seung-lok each received $1000 fines for negative behavior.
Finally, Afreeca Freecs coach Choi ‘iloveoov’ Yeon-sung was fined $1500 for negative behavior, having apparently been reported in nearly 80 games, more than 70% of his solo queue matches in September.
The various players and coaching staff being disciplined have been in South Korea for this year’s World Championship, of which the play-in stage was completed on October 7 and the group stage for the main event kicks off on October 10.
In this instance, none of the disciplinary action has affected the ability of any of the players to compete in the event, but the formal warnings could mean a more severe punishment should the behavior continue.