Competitive Ruling: Chris Shim, Geon-Woo “Ninja” Noh, & Jin-Yong “Fury” Lee

Riot·Dec 19, 2015·1 votes·35,597 views

People: Chris Shim, Geon-Woo “Ninja” Noh, & Jin-Yong “Fury” Lee

Region: North America & Korea

Date of Ruling: 12/18/15

Subject: Penalty; Violation of Global Anti-Tampering Rule

TL;DR

Chris Shim, current owner of NACS team Team Dragon Knights (TDK) tampered with Jin-Yong “Fury” Lee, who was under contract with LCK team Samsung Galaxy, by soliciting him to join TDK. Shim communicated the details of an employment offer through TDK player Geon-Woo “Ninja” Noh, who willingly assisted in soliciting Fury. By tampering with Fury while he was under contract with SSG, Shim and Ninja violated the Interregional Anti-Poaching and Anti-Tampering policy. By engaging in employment discussions and signing with TDK while still under contract with SSG, Fury is also in violation of that policy. Due to these violations, Fury will be suspended for effectively 1 month, Ninja will be suspended effectively for 2 months, and Chris Shim will be ineligible to own any team in 2016. TDK will be fined $10,000 USD for Ninja and Shim’s actions.

FACTS

Lee “Fury” Jin-Yong was contracted to LCK team Samsung Galaxy through November 30, 2015. In Summer Split of 2015, Geon-woo “Ninja” Noh, per request by Chris Shim, owner of Team Dragon Knights (TDK), reached out to Fury to ask how long Fury’s contract would last and whether he was interested in joining an NA team. Then, Fury asked Ninja to meet in person to discuss the terms of the offer in more detail. During this meeting, Ninja communicated the details of an offer to join TDK. Fury declined the offer.

Finally, in November (while Fury was still under contract with SSG), Ninja invited Fury to the TDK bootcamp gaming house in Korea as a friendly gesture, unaware of any TDK plans to continue negotiations with Fury. There, Shim spoke with Fury about the prospect of Fury joining TDK. In that conversation, Fury agreed not to re-sign with Samsung Galaxy and join TDK once his contract was over. Despite being under contract through November 30, 2015, Fury then signed a contract with TDK on November 5.

This December, in a call with league officials, Ninja admitted guilt by confirming that he wasn’t forced, coerced, or misled by Chris Shim at any point and that he was aware that Fury was under contract when they spoke.

General Context

Engaging in discussions about a player’s present or future employment status is expressly forbidden in the Interregional Anti-Poaching and Anti-Tampering policy as well as the LCS, CS and LCK rulesets. Such conversations are damaging to the sanctity of contracts, which represent a commitment to a team for a predetermined length of time. Conversations that undermine those commitments create a chaotic environment for teams and players and undermine the stability of teams. Most importantly, poaching/tampering disincentivize organizations from signing players to multi-year, lucrative contracts -- something we encourage and see happening as our ecosystem grows.

In this case, TDK’s disregard for the rules also cheated rule-abiding interested parties of the chance to negotiate with and potentially sign Fury. Shim never reached out to Samsung requesting to speak with Fury.

Players’ contract end-dates are available on lolesports.com, which was communicated publicly in June, so everyone has insight without needing to reach out to a player under contract directly. Fury’s contract end date was included on that list ever since it was published on June 9. Players also go through training at player conferences where they are educated on what constitutes poaching/tampering.

By engaging with TDK in these employment conversations, Fury also violated the Interregional Anti-Poaching and Anti-Tampering policy. Specifically this section:

“...[P]layers under league-recognized contracts cannot solicit or reach out directly to other team members or affiliates of other teams. In the event of prolonged discussions of employment that aren't sanctioned by the management of both teams, both the party attempting to poach and the player being poached will be subject to penalties at the discretion of league officials.”

Penalty and Context: Chris Shim

The standard for owners has been clearly set for tampering and poaching and Shim unambiguously violated tampering rules. Suspending an owner from the league is not always sufficient as owners can still be affiliated with organizations outside of official league roles and have operational control or influence. To ensure that organizations are held accountable for the actions of their members, we will be issuing the following actions:

Chris Shim will not be accepted in any official position for any team in all Riot-affiliated competition until January 1, 2017.
TDK will be fined 10,000 USD.
In addition, Shim currently owns a stake of TDK. In keeping with this ruling, we will require TDK to replace or resell his stake in the team’s ownership -- if they do not do so by Jan 14, 2016, the team will forfeit its Challenger Series spot, including any spot in the qualifier.

Penalty and Context: Ninja

Ninja violated anti-tampering rules and admitted full knowledge of both the fact that Fury was under contract during the times of their conversations and that Ninja knew his actions were against the rules.

Ninja is suspended from all Riot-affiliated League of Legends competition until March 11, 2016.

Penalty and Context: Fury

Both LCK players and LCS players have been educated on what constitutes tampering, poaching, and violation of the applicable rules during various player conferences and summits, including a conference Fury attended on July 6 this year. In this case, Fury didn’t initiate the conversations but instead just participated in them. Due to this mitigating circumstance, he will receive a reduced punishment.

Fury is suspended from all Riot-affiliated League of Legends competition until February 11, 2016.

26 Comments

S2 700 ELODec 19, 201510 votes

I do not like the forced sell. It sets a standard that can hurt future investment in teams. Why would someone invest in a team knowing that Riot could make a ruling that forces them to sell that investment? I realize that he broke rules but I feel it disturbs the symbiotic relationship that exists between Riot and the team organizations.

THE KILLER GUYDec 19, 20152 votes

So don't invest in your own team and then involve yourself and your team in the violation of rules of the institution in which your team will be competing. Simple. The reason this rule is in place is to ensure that, over the duration of his suspension, he has no influence over any aspect of the organization. Thanks to this rule, he can't use his partial ownership on the financial side of the organization (TDK) as an avenue to continue to participate in the professional LoL scene following his suspension.

KinkyKittyKatDec 19, 20153 votes

An organization that has no shady intentions should not be worried at all. An organization that has shady intentions is not welcome in CS/LCS anyway.

TrollFan01Dec 19, 20157 votes

This is a darn shame. What's really sad is not many will care as TDK isn't even in the LCS anymore.

xSleepyDec 19, 20151 votes

this isn't the first time this team has had a problem like this, as i recall. didn't one of their owners get banned from the lcs as they entered the lcs? edit: found it

ReppukenDec 19, 20157 votes

So teams like Roccat are totally cool to poach whoever they want and try and sell replacements for the people they poach, but a less popular team with less sponsors tries it and they get the book thrown at them? Very inconsistent and cloudy ruling.

FusionskraftwerkDec 26, 20151 votes

As Riot (Brazil) just punished pain gaming (one of the most famous and biggest Lol-teams in Brazil) pretty hard for poaching, I don't think they make much of a difference between the teams. I guess Roccat simply acted on the rules and contacted the players' management frst instead of directly contacting the players themselves.

MachadãoDec 19, 20157 votes

Meanwhile in Brazil...

PaiN announces OFFICIALLY Aleksi Kaikkonen on your facebook fanpage - https://www.facebook.com/paingamingbr/photos/a.363348400344385.94432.193628340649726/1123998794279338/?type=3
Aleksi Kaikkonen, support for Team Asterion (CS EU), denies and says he was not aware of anything (like Jon Snow: P) - https://twitter.com/HiivaLoL/status/677186459674271745
Alicus, manager of Team Asterion, says there is no signed contract between Aleksi and paiN - https://twitter.com/AlicusOfficial/status/677145962951909376
During all this confusion, paiN is punished for poaching another player (loop/INTZ) http://www.lolesports.com.br/noticias/b78df2cb-aa21-40d1-8d95-1a1b17869496

I just love these rules. You can advertise ANY player, even if there is no contract between him and the organization, and NOTHING will happen.

But it was not only the paiN who did it ...

INTZ announced VeteranEU as sub next season, but obviously it also denied https://twitter.com/VeteranEU/status/677623349506347008

What kind of rules are these, Riot? Please explain! Otherwise, next season any team in Brazil will announce Faker just for the hype ...

b2412Dec 19, 20156 votes

This anti poaching business is getting out of hand. A free agency season needs to be implemented where teams and players can talk to other players and teams about future employment opportunities without regards or fear of punishment under these haphazardly enforced rules.

What disturbs me even more is that if someone owns a stake in a gaming corporation/team, they should not and cannot be forced to sell their stake as a punishment under a competitive ruling handed down by the developer/organizer of the professional series of a game being played by said team as a condition of that team being able to remain as a recognized competitor for that game. I'm certain this has to be illegal, especially in the case of an organization like say C9 or FNC where the team is encompassing of more than just League of Legends.

I would not be surprised if Shim files an actual lawsuit against Riot over that particular part of this ruling. This is definitely something to keep an eye on, and I really hope that Shim and TDK don't take this sitting down.

THE KILLER GUYDec 19, 20154 votes

Fury was involved in a contract with Samsung Galaxy. Thus, he was not a free agent when dealing with TDK. If he waited until his contract expired, he could have inquired with TDK freely without breaking rules as he'd be a free agent. This is how it works in every professional sport. Free agency is a thing that exists for the sole purpose of allowing professionals to inquire with multiple teams without risking harm to any of the inquiring teams, as they would know that they are dealing with free agents. Contracts are made so that teams can depend on having a full roster before the beginning of the season. If players went around violating their contracts without penalty, there would be infinite cases of teams not having (in the case of LoL) a 5-man roster before, say, the LCS Spring season begins. It would slow down the entire scene and it would be detrimental to everyone.

Ale non è maleDec 19, 20156 votes

Heck, he didn't even have to wait for his contract to expire TDK could have just sent an e-mail to Samsung Galaxy saying "Hello Samsung, do you allow us to talk with Fury to negotiate his future employement?", and everything would be fine because they would have known that a team wanted to hire their player for next season and so Samsung could have had the chance to counter the offer

I think it was just unprofessional and shady behaviour that got rightly punished

THE KILLER GUYDec 19, 20153 votes

I strongly agree to this

Ale non è maleDec 19, 20153 votes

What people don't get, imho, is that the punishment have been SO hard because TDK didn't even try to do something that simple, that was just shady

Blunts4BrekfastDec 19, 20152 votes

This is how it works in every professional sport

Wow you must really not be familiar with professional sports at all.

In the NHL free agent period is July 1st at noon. No free agents can negotiate with any new teams before that time. Yet EVERY SINGLE YEAR people sign contracts on July 1st at 12:01. At 12:05. At 12:10. How the fuck do you think millionaires are negotiating extremely complex multi-year contracts in a single minute? In five minutes?

By being approached before hand, just like this situation .Thats how. But the NHL never suspends anyone who signs a 5 year contract at 12:01 when theyve only been a free agent for one minute. Despite the fact that an NHL contact is 10x more complex than a League of Legends contract.

Real sports accept it. Only League suspends people for negiating before the free agent period offfically starts.

GreenPhenomDec 20, 20152 votes

I am sorry sir, but you are the misinformed individual.

In professional sports, yes there is a set time frame for which you can start SIGNING free-agents, but the caveat you missed while trying to explain your point that people get signed a minute after the start of the signing period, is what kind of free agent they are. Free agents, especially restricted free-agents are allowed to negotiate with the team that they are currently on for a new free-agent deal, and those are generally the individuals that sign say at 12:01 AM. It's because that team wants to lock up their star player before anyone else can have a shot at him/her.

Real sports DO NOT just accept other teams talking to the player before hand. Many leagues, from baseball to the NFL and european football, and even the NHL thoroughly investigate tampering charges. Tampering is defined as illegally coercing or engaging another player or individual who is still under contract, like what happened here. The MLB Chicago Cubs were investigated last year. The owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban was FINED for tampering. The NFL NY Jets were fined $100,000 for tampering by engaging in talks with Darelle Revis. Even the NHL, had to come out with new rules last year for free agency to clarify what they would count as tampering.

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/24592647/nhl-clarifies-rules-for-free-agent-interviews-contract-parameters-ok

Also, the Canucks were fined for tampering in 2009, http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=501402.

So sir, I am sorry to say, but YOU, are the one that is not familiar with professional sports. Tampering is a big deal.

KordDec 19, 20154 votes

So is there no way for players switch teams without being treated like property? Or is Riot chill with this?

THE KILLER GUYDec 19, 20151 votes

If Fury waited for his contract with Samsung Galaxy to expire before signing a contract with TDK, it would have been perfectly legal. TDK's owner was too anxious/greedy to wait for this to happen, as the time waiting for the contract to expire is time he could be looking for other possibilities to fill Fury's role wasted; as well as time during which another team could notice Fury's talent and attempt to make a better deal upon the expiration of his contract. Fury, on the other hand, was likely aware that TDK's owner felt this way, and felt as though he had to act before TDK found someone else. It's a difficult system to work with, but it keeps competition sharp as only the best players are continually able to find teams and it ensures that every team will have a full 5-man roster for all of their games, as players can't just walk out and join other teams willy-nilly.

Blunts4BrekfastDec 19, 20152 votes

So is there no way for players to switch teams without being treated like property.

There is, But there is no way for them to switch teams and get their full value on the free market. Which is exactly how riot wants it.

In a true free market half the LCS owners couldnt afford LCS players. So Riot uses shitty free agent rules and shitty tampering rules to keep all the salaries down .

Meanwhile, at the Dota2 international, players are becoming millionaires.

potatoZevDec 19, 20151 votes

RIP TDK

SAFFATLOLDec 19, 20151 votes

Isn't TDK Team Arena Online now?

GodofPieDec 19, 20151 votes

They had to switch back temporarily

aaIamDec 19, 20151 votes

$10000 riot is a bitch

Blunts4BrekfastDec 19, 20151 votes

"Lets grow esports by banning people who want to invest and contribute to the esports scene so badly that they pay to take their NA team to Korea to bootcamp and to recruit new talent. Fuck the people who have enough money and passion to do that, lets make them sell their shares and lets try to get some owners in here who give zero fucks about league and just want a quick turnaround on investment." - Riot games

FusionskraftwerkDec 26, 20151 votes

So what you want them to say is basically: „Hey, you've got some money you want to invest in the competitive LoL scene? That's nice! Oh, and by the way, don't mind those rules. You've got money, so you can do whatever you want. We don't give a sh**. #Cashiskig “?

If that's what you want... I don't like that idea at all. If someone brakes the rules, he gets punished. That's the way it should be imho. How much money he wants to invest should be secondary (however, you should make sure he doesn't use the money to get around their punishment - which is exactly what Riot did by forcing Shrim to sell his stake)

puerhistaDec 20, 20151 votes

So if i understand it well, players under contarct are basically property of the team management and are unable to speak with anyone outside about their future plans or actively looking for new team, if they want quit after season? Yes, you can encourage your management, but if they dont allow anything, you are in darkness to the end of contract. I also dont see, how this anti- poaching system help with the stability of roster. If is roster stability important for management or want to secure some key players, they can nagotiate about new contract long before the old one expire (i suppose). If they offer reasonable money and there is no toxic environment in team, players have no reason to run away, but if they want run away from various reason, keeping them in darknes wouldnt held them in roster.

owenstarkillerDec 20, 20151 votes

Banned from owning a team? For a year? For one contract? That's insane. As it is the rules are so unclear that your own announcers have made mistakes. Hell, what is the draft period for the teams? There is no televised event. You draw tons of eyeballs for your championships but you are obviously unclear on what the rules for teams are.

What is the free agent status of individual players? How can you curtail their ability to negotiate while being a private enterprise without player input? This isn't the NFL where the players in bloc negotiate with the owners of the franchise/teams. You are a third party attempting to manipulate a market as if you were an actual legue. You aren't. And it is getting irritating.