Riot Games has found The Chiefs guilty of “unsportsmanlike behaviour inconsistent with the expectations of competitive integrity,” following an incident in their LCO match against Mammoth on July 27.
In a statement released on Thursday, Riot detailed the consequences of the incident for the Chiefs, which included a $2,500 AUD fine and an escalation of the roster’s disciplinary status to “on probation”.
Snowball Esports understand the fine will be donated to charity, with The Chiefs nominating The Smith Family as recipients.
The Chiefs scored multiple aces and built a monumental lead over Mammoth in their LCO Split 2 Week 7 match in late July. Instead of finishing the match, however, the Chiefs opted to stall the game and continue team-wiping Mammoth.
“There were times where we could end, and times where ending could have gone wrong for us. Things got too carried away. We’re sorry. It won’t happen again.”
DRAGON “DRAGKU” GUO, CHIEFS LEAGUE OF LEGENDS SUPPORT
During the artificially-extended LCO match, Twitch and YouTube viewers, as well as veteran Oceanic caster Zac “Rusty” Pye, were less than impressed.
“Tell you what, I’m not happy, they’re pissing me off,” Rusty said midway through the broadcast. “I know this is supposed to be a professional broadcast and we’re meant to be neutral and nice, but for the love of god, play the game to win.”
“Stop having fun and keeping us all here when the game is over. This is incredibly disrespectful.”
Following the match, the Chiefs players defended their actions on social media, including in the LCO’s Twitch chat, displaying “further disrespect and unsportsmanlike conduct towards Mammoth.”
The Chiefs released a statement the following day, condemning the actions of their League of Legends lineup: “We would like to apologize on behalf of our organization to Mammoth and their LCO players.”
“We have built a brand on professionalism and success. We are working with our players to lift them up to the standards that you, and The Chiefs, expect them to be at.”
The Chiefs support Dragon “Dragku” Guo also released a statement on behalf of the team, apologizing for their actions on the Rift.
He wrote, “[Tristan “Lived” Fulcher] stood up against it the entire time and it took too long for the rest of us to realise we were in the wrong.”
The Chiefs marketing director, Josh Harvey, posted a follow-up today, reiterating it was the organization’s decision to donate the fine to charity, and that not all of the players were implicated in the wrongdoing.
“Ambiguity in the wording is cruel to players that didn’t engage in all the actions and is affecting them now because they are being targeted online,” he wrote. “Yes, a rule was broken in an online game.
“But,” he added, “I think the mental health of humans is equally important.”