As we know, at this point, the Chinese League of Legends community is embroiled in a fierce debate, as some players have criticized two T1 players, specifically Canna and Faker, for the reason: “These two players have made sarcastic actions implying that China is a disease outbreak zone.”
This wave of criticism erupted after Canna made a gesture towards the champion Twitch – a champion with a nickname related to disease in both Chinese and Korean, during the match between T1 and TOP Esports in the Mid-Season Cup 2020.
After the incident became a hot topic on Chinese forums, T1 Chairman Joe Marsh was compelled to personally address the issue on T1’s official Weibo page, emphasizing that Canna’s actions were entirely accidental and not intended to convey any deeper meaning:
“Hello, I am the CEO of T1 – Joe Marsh.
I want to explain to everyone about the events that occurred yesterday during the ban/pick phase of the match between T1 and TOP Esports. Our player Canna typed the character “ㅌ” to search for the champion Trundle. In Korean, Trundle and Twitch share this character, and he accidentally clicked on Twitch because the two champions are positioned closely together. This choice had absolutely no special implication as rumored by netizens.
T1 has made extensive efforts to support China in combating the disease, and we will continue that effort in the future.
I hope that fans can dispel any misunderstandings and continue to support us in the upcoming LCK Summer.
In fact, Canna had previously spoken out to clarify the issue, and it is indeed true that Trundle and Twitch share common syllables, so it is understandable that he “hovered” over one of the two champions.
In reality, Canna himself is a player who has never been involved in any scandals regarding attitude during matches or training, so this “out of nowhere” incident has clearly left the young star of T1 quite shocked and worried.
Nevertheless, a segment of Chinese League of Legends fans seems unwilling to let T1 off the hook. Not only Canna but even Faker continues to be criticized right under the post just for “suddenly smiling” in that situation.
The evidence that Canna and Faker intentionally mocked China is not convincing at all, thus the internal community of League of Legends in the Panda country has split into two fierce debating factions. It remains unclear where this story will lead, as the parties involved still do not understand what is going on, while the community continues to criticize vehemently, even the serious expression of 369 – the top laner of 369 was brought up as evidence due to the reasoning: “369 recognized that sarcastic implication, which is why he appeared so serious and… upset.”
