Competitive Ruling: Cloud9 Tempest

We were recently notified that Cloud9 Tempest (C9T) used a player not on their official roster in their final matches of the North American Challenger Series Spring Qualifiers. As a result of our investigation and with the cooperation of the Cloud9 organization, we've discovered the following:

• Approximately four hours before the start of matches against Team Confound on February 4, Ritchie “Fade” Ngo had not yet begun patching his Tournament Realm account. With lobby check-in approaching and Fade’s client not yet patched, the team chose to have team analyst Tim “Timokiro” Cho play the match himself in the support role rather than forfeit the match. Timokiro logged into Fade’s account and played the matches while impersonating Fade.
• The team’s substitute player, Jonathan “Grigne” Armao, was not involved in the team’s decision to use a ringer and did not know about the situation.
• C9T Team manager Danan “Kaniggit” Flander joined the team’s call during their matches and became aware that the team’s analyst was impersonating Fade during the matches. He did not immediately disclose this information to CS officials while the matches were ongoing, and allowed the match to play out with C9T fielding a ringer.
• Post-game, Kaniggit and the C9T players informed Charlie “Charlie” Lipsie about what had happened. Charlie did not work on C9T in any official capacity but was a member of the Cloud9 organization and encouraged Kaniggit to speak with Cloud9 Team Owner, Jack Etienne. Charlie and Kaniggit escalated the situation through their organization to Etienne, who then volunteered this information to CS officials.

RELEVANT RULES

9.1 Unfair Play The following actions will be considered unfair play and will be subject to penalties at the discretion of CS officials:

• Ringing. Playing under another player’s account or soliciting, inducing, encouraging or directing someone else to play under another player’s account. (9.1.1.6)

RULING

C9T has violated rule 9.1.1.6 of the CS ruleset and will be subject to penalties.

COMPETITION PENALTIES

• C9T is disqualified from the Challenger Series for the Spring 2015 Split. Team Confound is awarded the game victory and wins the berth into the Challenger Series 2015 Spring Split.
• Colin “Solo” Earnest, Anthony “Hard” Barkhovtsev, David “Yusui” Bloomquist, Benjamin “LOD” deMunck, Ritchie “Fade” Ngo, and Tim “Timokiro” Cho are suspended from all Riot-sponsored League of Legends competition until the 2015 Summer Split.
• Danan “Kaniggit” Flander is suspended from all Riot-sponsored League of Legends competition, including the LCS and Challenger Series, until the 2015 Summer Split.
• Cloud9 is suspended from sponsoring a Challenger team until the 2015 Summer Split.

CONTEXT

Was This A Patching Issue? Though players are responsible for making sure they’re in the lobby on time for their matches, we always encourage players with technical issues to reach out to CS officials. Teams competing in the Round 2 of the Spring 2015 CS Qualifiers, including C9T, were reminded last Sunday that they would need to patch their tournament clients. They were then reminded once more on Monday. C9T played its games against Team Confound on Wednesday. At no point did any member of C9T come to CS officials to discuss technical problems or ask for assistance. Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Fined? Because C9T has been disqualified from the Challenger Series, they are not entitled to any prize money. They now have have no winnings to be fined against. We believe that prohibiting the Cloud9 organization from picking up another Challenger Series team for the duration of this split is sufficient punishment. Why Are The Players Being Penalized? We understand that a team with technical issues just before a game starts may be tempted to use any means necessary to avoid disqualification. That said, the best course of action is never to cheat against an opposing team. Ringing is a serious offense. It misleads opponents who have prepared for the match, it circumvents roster rules meant to create a fair playing field, and breaks trust with fans and the league. Based on our investigation, including conversations with the C9T players, we believe the players’ decision to use a ringer at the eleventh hour rather than risk disqualification was a serious lapse in judgment. All of the C9T players collectively agreed to use a ringer and concealed that fact while the matches were taking place: as a result, all of the players are receiving the same penalty. While the C9T players and organization committed a serious offense, the fact that the players came clean within their own organization after the match and the organization cooperated fully with CS officials investigating the matter was a significant consideration. As a result, a one split ban is sufficiently severe to penalize their misconduct, while still allowing them to plan for a future within the Challenger league. Above all, we hope that this incident drives home the value of honesty and transparency on the part of teams and players. In the end, cheating is never worth it. Why Isn’t Charlie Being Penalized? Charlie does not have an official position on C9T. When he was told that C9T used a ringer during its match by Kaniggit, he elevated the situation through his organization to C9T’s sponsor, Jack Etienne. While we would have preferred he come forward to CS officials immediately, we don’t feel it is unreasonable that a member of an organization would inform his organization’s owner about suspected misconduct before coming to CS officials, provided CS officials are still informed shortly thereafter. Upon being informed about C9T’s misconduct from Kaniggit and Charlie, Etienne immediately contacted CS officials and disclosed what had happened. Given these facts, Charlie will not be penalized. Why Is Kaniggit Being Penalized? Kaniggit is the team manager for C9T. When Kaniggit joined C9T’s team call during their CS Qualifiers match and became aware that they were using a ringer, he should have immediately informed CS officials. Though Kaniggit did not encourage C9T to use a ringer, as an authority figure and manager on the team, he had a responsibility to stop the misconduct as it was happening. His failure to do is why he is being punished. Why Is Cloud9 Being Penalized? After investigating this matter, we have found no evidence to indicate that C9 management encouraged the C9T players to use a ringer prior to the matches in question. That said, in failing to keep proper oversight over their manager Kaniggit, C9 bears responsibility for not preventing its team from cheating in a competitive match. As a result, we are prohibiting the Cloud9 organization from sponsoring a Challenger team until the Summer 2015 Split.