Competitive Ruling: Renegades and TDK

Riot·May 9, 2016·16 votes·100,467 views

TL;DR: Renegades management has been found to have knowingly violated the competitive ban against Chris Badawi, misrepresented their relationship with TDK, and compromised player welfare and safety. Both the Renegades organization and TDK organization will no longer be allowed to continue participating in Riot-sanctioned leagues. In addition, Chris Badawi will be permanently banned from association or affiliation with any team or organization participating in a Riot-sanctioned league, while Christopher Mykles is banned for one year from holding any Riot-sanctioned position within a competing organization. Chris and Sean Shim of TDK are indefinitely banned from association or affiliation with an organization in a Riot-sanctioned league, subject to first review in January 2019.

CONTEXT:

Over the course of this split we have received multiple serious allegations about the Renegades organization. The allegations have been centered around (1) team ownership structure and behavior, (2) player welfare and treatment within the team and (3) collusion/competitive integrity. After weeks of investigation, we have found several of the allegations to be corroborated by testimony and evidence from parties involved.

Team Ownership

We have been provided with evidence that current Renegades owner Christopher Mykles had a deal in place with suspended former owner Chris Badawi that would grant Badawi a 50% stake in the team once his suspension had expired. Per LCS rules, any present or future right to ownership is considered a firm ownership stake regardless of the date of effect, which makes any such agreement reached with Badawi during the term of his suspension to be a direct violation of League rules. Further, Mykles failed to disclose this arrangement during the LCS team vetting process, which we consider to be an intentional and material omission apparently designed to circumvent the clear and public ban of Badawi. For the avoidance of doubt, had Mykles openly disclosed this ownership arrangement, Renegades would not have been accepted into the LCS.

Player Welfare

Throughout the past split, we have heard testimony regarding various player welfare concerns involving Renegades, primarily around Badawi’s conduct while serving in a non-ownership capacity during his suspension term. These allegations, corroborated to Riot by multiple sources who have had close contact or affiliation with the team, included confrontations between management and players, refusal to honor payment and contract provisions, and failure to maintain a safe environment for all team members. Allowing an unsafe environment to exist for players is the responsibility of the entire Renegades management, and is a failure to meet the professional standards we expect of LCS owners and team representatives.

Independence of Teams and Competitive Integrity

We have also found that Renegades and TDK have deliberately misled League officials with respect to their corporate relationship. While handling trade requests between the two teams leading up to the Spring Promotional Tournament, League officials made repeated direct inquiries of the team owners regarding independence of the two organizations, terms of the trades, and status of players and payments. Both teams assured officials that their businesses were not linked in any fashion, and that the trade was in the mutual interest of both teams independent of any additional relationship or agreement. Subsequently, League officials received evidence that indicated that some of the players were compensated and/or housed by their former teams even after the trade was completed, including payments for the month following the trade. As part of the trade approval process, REN and TDK had submitted a document which was represented to be the summary of the trade agreement, but it included no provisions beyond simple assignment of the contracts, and did not establish cause for the former team to continue payments to the now-traded players.

Per the LCS Rules, teams are required to be truthful and forthcoming in their representations to the League. Both REN and TDK were found to have provided incomplete and/or inaccurate answers and documents to deliberately hide a relationship and interactions which exceed acceptable bounds. Co-mingled finances and operations can lead to establishment of influence between teams that forces one party into non-beneficial decisions (like trading away strong players) and, at worst, unfair play (described in Rule 10.1 of the LCS ruleset) - that’s why such arrangements are expressly forbidden in the LCS ruleset and Team Agreement.

RULING:

Renegades has violated its team agreement and LCS rules, and is hereby disallowed from participating in any Riot-sanctioned league. In order to minimize disruption to their players, Renegades will be granted a grace period until 11:59pm PST on May 18th to sell all rights and legal claim to their LCS berth, meaning a finalized transfer agreement must be presented to League officials, and the owner must pass the standard approval process. This grace period is contingent on Renegades cooperating with League officials in any requests/communication around player welfare and/or the transfer process, and is subject to revocation.

Due to his existing disciplinary history (including current status as a suspended owner), as well as the degree of his personal involvement in the cited offenses, Chris Badawi is permanently banned from any association or affiliation with a team in a Riot-sanctioned league. Due to his lesser involvement in these transgressions as a remotely-located owner, Christopher Mykles is banned for one year (until the start of the Summer Split in 2017) from holding any ownership or Riot-recognized position (including GM, team coach or team analyst) with any team in a Riot-sanctioned league. This ban does not extend to any casting or broadcast analyst work, as those positions are independent of team operations and not covered by this ruling.

TDK has also violated its team agreement by being untruthful in its representations to the League about its trade requests. Therefore, TDK will not be allowed to participate in the CS Summer Split. In order to minimize disruption to their players, TDK will be granted a grace period until May 18th to sell its spot. Given the previous issues with TDK ownership, Chris Shim and Sean Shim are indefinitely banned from any association or affiliation with a team in a Riot-sanctioned league, with the first opportunity to apply for reinstatement for a league position on January 1, 2019.

RELEVANT RULES:

3.1 Team Ownership Restriction

...Any buyback provision, right of first purchase, or similar interest in a team shall be treated as a controlling interest in such team for the purposes of enforcing ownership restrictions. …
The League shall have the right to make final and binding determinations regarding Team ownership, issues relating to the multiple team restriction and other relationships that may otherwise have an adverse impact on the competitive integrity of the LCS.

10.2.16 Document or Miscellaneous Requests.

Documentation or other reasonable items may be required at various times throughout the LCS as requested by LCS officials. If the documentation is not completed to the standards set by the LCS then a team may be subject to penalties.

Team Application Process

Independent of the LCS ruleset, failing to disclose Badawi’s interest in Renegades was a material omission of fact under our LCS team application process. Misrepresentation to the League is a material breach of the LCS Team Agreement.

Q&As:

Q: Why are you not releasing more evidence of these offenses?
A: First and foremost, we are not disclosing evidence because we have an obligation to protect the parties involved. People have placed their trust in us by stepping forward and we need to protect them from possible retribution. Further, some of these are serious allegations that extend beyond our LCS ecosystem, and it is not our goal to affect these parties outside of LoL esports.

Q: What about the players, managers, or coaches? Did they do anything wrong?
A: The general manager, head coach, and players on Renegades were not implicated in any wrongdoing, nor were the head coach and players on TDK. To be clear, we do not have reason to suspect any collusion in regards to the results of the match between REN-TDK in the recent Promotion Tournament. We believe these individuals have done nothing but try to compete as best they can, and we will be working with them to support their continued involvement in the LCS.

Q: If these guys broke League rules, why are you letting them sell the spot at all?
A: We believe that this is the best way to protect the players, as a buyer for the team will hopefully be inclined and able to negotiate for the assignment of the players’ contracts as well. If the team agreement was simply terminated, the players’ existing contracts cannot be transferred by Riot to a new owner, so would require new negotiations and would not necessarily include all former players.

Q: Isn’t 10 days an unrealistic time frame to sell an LCS/CS team?
A: While we want to give REN/TDK ownership a fair window in which to exit the league, we also want to make sure a new team has a reasonable amount of time to prepare for the Summer Split. Further, we believe that 10 days is more than sufficient to sell an organization; from past experience, we are aware of multiple potential buyers who have expressed interest in becoming part of the League. Given the time remaining before the start of the Summer Split, we believe this is the fairest solution for Renegades/TDK ownership, their players, and the league.

Q: Why not give the slot to the REN players?
A: While we appreciate the work that the REN players have put in to that team’s success and continued performance in the LCS, legally, the slot belongs to the REN organization. By allowing REN to transfer the spot to an established ownership group (who will still need to qualify through the LCS vetting process), we can bring closure in the most efficient and amicable manner. We hope that any new owner would consider bringing the REN players onto the new squad.

Q: What happens if REN or TDK fail to sell their spot by the deadline?
A: While we’re not able to fully discuss them to avoid disrupting a potential sale, we will have follow up steps should a new owner not be found (and deal agreed upon) within the timeframe. Our primary concern is to hopefully facilitate a smooth sale process that protects existing players as much as possible, and we will be transparent about further steps in the event that either team fails to sell.

Q: What is the difference between “permanent” and “indefinite” bans?
A: They represent a difference in the possibility of reform. We believe that some parties are capable of learning from and reforming the behavior that led to this ban, as we’ve seen with certain players who have come back from what were once permanent bans. We believe Sean Shim and Chris Shim could return to the LCS sometime in the future. We do not believe there is a place for Chris Badawi anywhere in the LoL esports ecosystem.

Q: Does this mean Monte won’t be able to cast League of Legends anymore?
A: As described above, this ruling only involves Christopher Mykles, the owner of Renegades, and has no bearing on Monte’s status as a caster for OGN, IEM, or any other League competition. Monte’s contract and status with OGN is solely a matter for those two parties to decide, as it always has been.

Q: What does this mean for Renegades Banditos in the EU CS?
A: Banditos will not be allowed to participate under this ownership group. CS ownership, however, is not defined or granted to organizations until entry into the Challenger Series, which has not yet occurred for Banditos. Therefore we will continue to work with the Banditos players as the owners of the CS opportunity and help them either find new owners and branding or set up the necessary structure to participate in the EU CS, if they qualify.

142 Comments

Miror BMay 9, 201613 votes

Well, that definitely explains those stupid decisions (TDK trading Seraph/Ninja for Ich/RF/Flaresz seemed like either an incredibly stupid or incredibly fishy decision). I definitely would not be surprised to see Seraph/Ninja get starting opportunities elsewhere, losing two LCS teams does make things really interesting though after C9/Apex bought challenger spots and TL reforming their challenger roster. If we happen to see any of those teams "trade up", we could be in for a fun summer. Oh, and hopefully Monte casts some more. Many people know him for his great analysis/ability to make korean games watchable for the english viewer, and not for his team ownership/coaching.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20164 votes

Losing THREE teams is fucking insanity, two out of the LCS. On one hand I'm super glad CLG isn't involved, (my heart would break) but on the other I am so angry and wonder how much of the management bs had to do with Remi disappearing.

Miror BMay 9, 20165 votes

{quoted}

Losing THREE teams is fucking insanity, two out of the LCS. On one hand I'm super glad CLG isn't involved, (my heart would break) but on the other I am so angry and wonder how much of the management bs had to do with Remi disappearing.

Yeah, no. Remi left because of stress (something she posted on reddit and other things). This DOES explain the whole seraph/ninja scenario, as no logical team would trade a guy who was in the top 3 of 4 different categories for top laners after subbing in for TIP, and a known high-value prospect in Ninja for the rotting garbage of RF/Flaresz/Ich. Also, it could possibly be four teams leaving. If banditos doesn't find an ownership group then they're out of the eu challenger series as well.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20164 votes

Yes, she left because of stress. My point is, was it just the stress of the harassment she was under or was it the stress of this:

Player Welfare Throughout the past split, we have heard testimony regarding various player welfare concerns involving Renegades, primarily around Badawi’s conduct while serving in a non-ownership capacity during his suspension term. These allegations, corroborated to Riot by multiple sources who have had close contact or affiliation with the team, included** confrontations between management and players, refusal to honor payment and contract provisions, and failure to maintain a safe environment for all team members.** Allowing an unsafe environment to exist for players is the responsibility of the entire Renegades management, and is a failure to meet the professional standards we expect of LCS owners and team representatives.

Miror BMay 9, 20165 votes

{quoted}

Yes, she left because of stress. My point is, was it just the stress of the harassment she was under or was it the stress of this:

Naw, I'm like 90% sure it had to do with the fact that she was shy and uncomfortable playing in front of such a large audience. More of an understandable stage-fright issue, less of an "illegal stuff" issue.

MeilinIIMay 9, 201610 votes

Is there a particular reason you say that? Because I never saw it as a stage fright issue. I always saw it as an understandable reaction to harassment and death threats from assholes online for daring to set foot on the esports stage.

Miror BMay 9, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Is there a particular reason you say that? Because I never saw it as a stage fright issue. I always saw it as an understandable reaction to harassment and death threats from assholes online for daring to set foot on the esports stage.

Yeah, I wasn't actually too sure as to the severeness of those "death threats" (from what I heard/saw, people kept referring to her as a "scumbag %%%%%%" in the twitch chat during games). I did notice though that she looked a bit "spooked" after the games she did play, so I always kinda thought she had stage fright which was exacerbated by that nasty losing skid.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20167 votes

The thing is that I saw the death threats and harassment. They were everywhere. Trolls in comment sections on her leaguepedia articles and troll edits and twitter messages and even facebook threats, and the aforementioned twitch nastiness. She got doxxed more than once. It got worse and worse as it went on and let me tell you, being harassed like that, even online? It's terrifying and completely undeserved, and you could see on her twitter how hard it was for her to try and keep the good fight up under that. I think she was more afraid of those people seeing her and talking shit than she was of playing in front of others.

Now, I wonder if Renegades management did enough to try and help her cope or if they contributed themselves.

LankPantsMay 9, 20168 votes

Now, I wonder if Renegades management did enough to try and help her cope or if they contributed themselves.

I'd be willing to bet they tried to help. She was one of the better players on that team, I think the only other player on that team with more potential than her was Freeze. If they weren't helping her then they lost a potentially very good player from it, which I don't think would be in their interest.

I think it's fairly reasonable that she quit, it would have took a world class support team to help someone through the shit she was getting. It's just a shame that this community's mostly 12-15 year old kids who'll attack anyone they perceive as different.

MasochistMay 9, 20165 votes

I never saw anything more harsh than any of the other players got.

Remi has severe mental issues not associated with, but exacerbated by playing on the professional League of Legends scene.

MeilinIIMay 9, 201614 votes

You're blind. When was the last time you saw a member of TSM or CLG get sexually harassed or receive rape threats? When was the last time they got rape threats or were called homophobic slurs and worse? She got a hundred times worse than other players.

MasochistMay 9, 20162 votes

Not blind. Do you watch Twitch chat? At all?

Also, these "death and rape threats" being taken seriously is one of the more stupid things in the entire internetverse.

It's been shown, time and time again, these are nothing but trolls. Feeding the trolls by giving in and quitting means more trolls are going to come troll you.

He didn't get a hundred times worse than other players, that's all perception. The community is merciless. Regardless of your gender or chosen gender.

It's just somehow worse because "lol grill"

You said it yourself. TROLLS. I have received these kind of threats before. I've been gaming on the internet for upwards of 17 years now. Do you know what they were? Idiots trying to get attention and trying to get their rocks off. That's the end of it.

Evidence is clear Remi was the least emotionally stable professional League of Legends player, but that doesn't mean they're stupid, they knew these people were tossing out hollow bullshit to get exactly the kind of reaction they got. (On the opposite end, people seem to be much more defensive of Remi because of their gender situation. This bias goes two ways.)

I'm going to give them the same respect I would give anyone, and say they should have ignored the trolls and got over it, and themselves like a functioning adult would.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20164 votes

No one should have to put up with harassment. You saying she should get over it and ignore it is the same as saying that shit is okay, and it's not. Maybe YOU'RE the one who should get over themselves, because I'd bet my next paycheck you've never experienced the level of harassment Remi did, and she got objectively more harassment than any other LCS player. And frankly, death and rape threats are different to women and minorities, and if you're too stupid to understand that you're the problem.

SpaceCaptViralMay 9, 20162 votes

She certainly got more hate, her attitude and the nudes issue didn't help either. She became a meme, can't really help it, kind of like the Krepo situation.

LintheMay 9, 20164 votes

{quoted}

Is there a particular reason you say that? Because I never saw it as a stage fright issue. I always saw it as an understandable reaction to harassment and death threats from assholes online for daring to set foot on the esports stage.

Yes. It was known... I believe in the challenger series leading to get into the LCS.. that she did not want her face shown on camera.

Riot did their best to accommodate her (and you absolutely COULD notice the difference in the broadcast).

MeilinIIMay 9, 20162 votes

I thought that was because she didn't want to have to bear the burden of being the first female player in the LCS and was trying to minimize her exposure?

LintheMay 9, 20161 votes

{quoted}

I thought that was because she didn't want to have to bear the burden of being the first female player in the LCS and was trying to minimize her exposure?

Im really not sure what her rationale was.. TBH Im not sure anyone on here does.. Heck. maybe only she knows for sure..

But what she requested and was accorded by Riot is clear...

MeilinIIMay 9, 20162 votes

She actually said on twitter originally she wanted to leave the team once they won the Challenger Series because she didn't want to bear the torch of being first. Her team pressured her to stay and many, many girl gamers encouraged her to go for it, and in the end she stayed but had riot deflect as much attention as possible. I figured the two were directly connected, since she never had a problem with the spotlight in the Challenger Series? I was sad to see her leave after a few games, but I figured the harassment was too much and she never wanted to be the first, so she ran. I can't blame her for that. The bs directed at her is stupid.

MyzMay 9, 20168 votes

{quoted}

Losing THREE teams is fucking insanity, two out of the LCS. On one hand I'm super glad CLG isn't involved, (my heart would break) but on the other I am so angry and wonder how much of the management bs had to do with Remi disappearing.

Remi was one if not the worst support in the LCS. Good thing she left, Renegade actually had better chances without her. This is the pro scene, not a birthday party, the bad players get kicked out and replaced by good players.

MeilinIIMay 9, 201611 votes

She wasn't kicked out, so you're talking out your ass. She left due to 'stress' but never said explicitly what it was. It was implied that she left because of the harassment she was receiving by dipshits online. Now I wonder if there was more to it.

Miror BMay 9, 20163 votes

{quoted}

She wasn't kicked out, so you're talking out your ass. She left due to 'stress' but never said explicitly what it was. It was implied that she left because of the harassment she was receiving by dipshits online. Now I wonder if there was more to it.

Should also probably note that Kiwikid had roughly similar stats to her, yet was almost instantaneously offered the starting gig from NRG once dig collapsed into oblivion. Don't get me wrong, he does have a ton of experience over her, but the fact that skill has anything to do with things is incredibly surprising especially in this day and age where we have 1-2 jenson's and bjergson's for every 10 Ich's/Kirei's.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20163 votes

I think Kiwikid was probably also... how do I put this... a less polarizing figure? Remi played her way up from the bottom with misfits, but she took a lot of flak the whole way up. I think there are probably a few really good players who aren't pros because they're not likable or are polarizing in some other way. Most of the time that's a good thing, but in this case..... I mean, I'm not saying Remi was some godly support (except on Thresh, she was impressive as shit on Thresh....) but she was still very clearly a Challenger/pro-tier player with room to grow if she was ALLOWED to grow.

97lja0bzhSMay 9, 20168 votes

All of us need to understand how incredibly stressful as a pro female gamers. Some people need to realize there are literally zero pro female lol players in any region at all, not because women can't be good at the game, but because of how unwelcome the LOL environment for any women player. Remi being the only female pro gamer in LCS means she's getting all the hate whether she performs or not makes the amount of stress 100x worse than any male pro gamer. We are not trying to act as "white knight" for her. We are trying to help some of the guys who seem to have problem understanding how horrible sexual harassment and death threats are to her. It's guys who need help, not her.

SpeerhausenMay 9, 20162 votes

I wouldn't be surprised if Renegade's inability to see to the welfare of their players was part of the reason why she left.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20161 votes

I don't want to believe it, but my gut is telling me that might be exactly what happened. :(

SpeerhausenMay 9, 20161 votes

"and failure to maintain a safe environment for all team members." as quoted from: http://www.lolesports.com/en_US/articles/competitive-ruling-renegades-and-tdk

MeilinIIMay 9, 20161 votes

No, I mean I know that Renegades had "confrontations between management and players, refusal to honor payment and contract provisions, and failure to maintain a safe environment for all team members" but I meant my gut says that's what happened to Remi in particular. She was the one on that team who was the most public about her unhappiness and she disappeared from everything once she left. No twitter, twitch, nada from what I could find.

SpeerhausenMay 9, 20161 votes

Yeah. She just disappeared, and the only thing I remember reading was a statement that she was planning on an entirely new type of work. I don't even think I remember seeing any actual personal statement from her, more like the off-hand comment of a representative.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20161 votes

Do you remember where you saw that? I just remember her twitter being deleted one day and everything vanishing. I looked for her to see what had happened but never found anything. :/

SpeerhausenMay 9, 20161 votes

no, I don't remember... but after a lengthy search, this site(never seen it before) mentions "another career path". Unlike other sources, it doesn't have a quote from her, so I'd take its word with a grain of salt.

http://www.gosugamers.net/lol/news/34241-remi-leaves-la-renegades

MeilinIIMay 9, 20161 votes

Am I the only one that finds it sus as hell that this completely sketch looking newssite has the only hint?

SpeerhausenMay 9, 20161 votes

My personal theory is that she disappeared from everything due to fearing for her safety. Sadly, if that is the case, she wouldn't be the first person to need to do that.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20161 votes

That's what I think, too, and it breaks my heart. I picked up Morgana after watching her play.

SpeerhausenMay 11, 20162 votes

https://twitter.com/idolMariya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Aparently her new new twitter account, as referenced by what I assume is the ESPN website.

http://espn.go.com/esports/story/_/id/15494634/riot-games-kicks-renegades-team-impulse-team-dragon-knights-competitive-league-legends

In the twitter post for May 8th, she refers to herself as "an avenger.", which ended up in the ESPN article about REN, TDK and TIP.

Draw your own conclusions.

MeilinIIMay 11, 20161 votes

BLESS YOUR FACE I THOUGHT SHE WAS GONE FROM TWITTER FOREVER

They updated that article recently, her tweet wasn't there when I read it last night.

This adds weight to my previous speculations, though. Hot damn.

Edit: looked through her twitter. Might not be related. She's always been pretty weeb and she's using a Naruto-related name ATM....

SpeerhausenMay 11, 20161 votes

It's always hard to verify a source on the internet.

Marianna KrossMay 10, 20161 votes

As multiple people have been stating, it was most likely due to issues stemming from anxiety and being a transgendered person who used to go to 4chan to post naked photos. All of that is a recipe for disaster when you end up in the spotlight as the controversial first female player in LCS. Who wouldn't buckle? Source: I spend my life on 4chan and Google isn't difficult to use either, when it comes to the issues not to be discussed here.

SpaceCaptViralMay 9, 20161 votes

Dude, Remilia disappeared after people found nudes of her before her transgender surgery. Not saying it was ok to harass her because of that, but she decided to step down after that issue, RNG didn't really have anything to do with it.

MeilinIIMay 9, 20161 votes

If that's true it's no fucking wonder she noped the fuck out. Got a source for any of that?

SpaceCaptViralMay 10, 20161 votes

not sure if its allowed but fuck it here

Yordle XayahMay 9, 20164 votes

I wouldn't say this makes the league more "interesting", but rather drop the level from the lower portion of the table even further. So... CLG beats SKT and RNG at some games at MSI and return home to face 3 challenger teams that just happen to replace the old teams? I think this will harm the league, as more than ever the Top 4 usual suspects (CLG/TSM/C9/Liquid and IMT I guess) will just battle it out in a mini league of their own while the remaining teams just feed free wins to them. I'm not questioning the decision or if any of this is true or not, but seeing CLG perform so well at MSI and return to a diminished League for summer... I mean, look what happened to EU when the League got hit in terms of overall quality. EU went from 2 teams being Top 4 in the World (FNC/OG), to G2-8 This is bad news for the entire NA LCS. I hope for the best. Maybe some genius challenger hidden squad will pop, but I'm not too optimistic.

Miror BMay 9, 20162 votes

{quoted}

I wouldn't say this makes the league more "interesting", but rather drop the level from the lower portion of the table even further. So... CLG beats SKT and RNG at some games at MSI and return home to face 3 challenger teams that just happen to replace the old teams? I think this will harm the league, as more than ever the Top 4 usual suspects (CLG/TSM/C9/Liquid and IMT I guess) will just battle it out in a mini league of their own while the remaining teams just feed free wins to them. I'm not questioning the decision or if any of this is true or not, but seeing CLG perform so well at MSI and return to a diminished League for summer... I mean, look what happened to EU when the League got hit in terms of overall quality. EU went from 2 teams being Top 4 in the World (FNC/OG), to G2-8 This is bad news for the entire NA LCS. I hope for the best. Maybe some genius challenger hidden squad will pop, but I'm not too optimistic.

See, I disagree that it'll make NA weaker. The players from TIP and renegades will still be able to play in the league, just not on those teams. If anything, it opens up way more possibilities (like two c9 teams facing off against eachother, or kiwikid vs a new dignitas team). While it won't be the same as last split where we had like 3 and a half quality teams (CLG,C9,Immortals, and TSM in the playoffs) mixed in with a bunch of garbos, I don't exactly think it'll be as weak as you think it is going to be either. If anything, it should be more challenging as we aren't guaranteed to have TIP/Dignitas/renegades handing out free wins.

Foxgirl KingdomMay 9, 20162 votes

Kiwikid won't play against a new dig team until they requalify for lcs. The players on tip and ren were also several levels below the pre-established big 4 in play, so them being on another team won't help that unless they improve significantly. That's just kind of wishful thinking.

SpeerhausenMay 9, 20162 votes

You weren't the only one who got extremely confused with the sudden roster swap or whatever it was. I remember knowing that Remi left the team and then suddenly that their roster changed almost completely.

LycanoonMay 9, 20168 votes

After reading the Wall of Text...

My Head Hurts... I find the amount of presented Public Data leaves a HUGE GREY AREA that isn't covered properly... If anything, a little more in depth research needs to be done, and HARD FACTS need to be obtained. Integrity of an Online Gaming League's Players? Okay...and what's your point? These players are respected for their ability to play a video game...it's not like League is Life (except for some of those elitist's that live, breathe, and eat LoL).

On the real, if such a serious violation was done right under y'all's noses...you're not doing your job right. Why broadcast this on the boards and RUIN THE TEAM'S INTEGRITY!? Why not just simply state they WITHDREW FROM THE COMPETITION for PERSONAL REASONS?

yawns

MeilinIIMay 9, 201628 votes

{quoted} Why broadcast this on the boards and RUIN THE TEAM'S INTEGRITY!? Why not just simply state they WITHDREW FROM THE COMPETITION for PERSONAL REASONS?

Because that would de-legitimize esports as a whole. Riot has to prove, through action, that broken rules will be punished. Trying to sweep it under the rug would look sketch as fuck.

If Tom Brady was caught with steroids and banned, would you expect the NFL to be like 'he retired for personal reasons'? No! They'd throw his rule breaking ass under the bus and rightfully so. Riot should not treat professionals in esports any different than professional athletes anywhere else.

Also: All articles on the esports page get automatically crossposted to the boards because that's how the comments system works. It doesn't have to do with them 'broadcasting' it.

LycanoonMay 9, 20166 votes

True. Ok, you got me there.

Well...if that's the case, merr...it r what it r.

SpeerhausenMay 10, 20163 votes

With other esports organizations having their own problems, Riot needs to show that corruption will not be allowed. It might just seem like a problem with LCS, but its bigger than that. Problems like these harm the legitimacy of esports as a whole. The public eye is already beginning to doubt "esports" due to the cheating and game-rigging within Starcraft II. I don't follow other games such as FPS games, so I don't know if they've had any big scandals as of late.

When mainstream media has just begun to take esports seriously, quashing these problems early, showing that the big organizations will not stand for it... THAT is very important.

Legitimacy is being threatened. Riot cannot take chances now. None of the large esports companies can.

DestructoDaveMay 9, 20166 votes

Sounds like some whistleblowing. This is what happens when you run a poor ship. Eventually, someone is going to talk. If they were treating their players like shit, maybe Monte/RNG shouldn't be doing behind the back dealings with a guy who is supposed to be banned from the sport for a stretch. Exactly what did they think was gonna happen when it was found out? If you were going to deal with the Chris guy, you better be pampering your staff and players who have knowledge of you dealing with them, or people will talk. This crap happens 24/7 EVERYWHERE.