Recently, Riot Games announced a penalty for the Chiefs Esports Club team from the Oceanic League of Legends region for unsportsmanlike conduct and insulting their opponents during a match in the LCO tournament.
Specifically, on July 27th, during the match between The Chiefs (Chiefs Esports Club) and MAMMOTH, the players of The Chiefs had a completely dominating performance against their opponents, as they quickly took a 10,000 gold lead by the 20th minute. However, this team allowed the match to drag on until the 32nd minute, when the gold difference reached… 27,000, and the kill score was 39 – 8.
In reality, a team leading by 10,000 gold but not wanting to “destroy the base” could argue that they want to play safely and avoid risks. However, in the case of The Chiefs, this was not the case. Throughout the match, this team continuously showed signs of neglecting objectives and only focused on ambushing whenever the MAMMOTH players respawned.
Suspecting the negative motivation of this team, Riot conducted an investigation, and through mic-checks, the organizers of the LCO verified that all 5 players of The Chiefs were heard urging their teammates not to attack the Nexus, but to “wait for them to respawn and then we will farm KDA.”
Riot Games decided to fine The Chiefs $2,500 (approximately 57 million VND), and the 5 main roster members will receive probation penalties. This team then requested to donate the fine amount to a charity fund, which Riot approved, but their unsportsmanlike behavior was still strongly condemned by the organizers and fans alike.