Following a lengthy investigation behind the scenes, Riot Games has officially handed out multiple punishments across the Vietnamese League of Legends scene due to violations of the Global Code of Conduct, including several permanent bans from professional play.
VCS players across eight different pro teams have been banned from Riot-sanctioned events moving forward, with eight permabans, six three-year bans, and a handful of players banned for one to two years, Riot confirmed today. There were a few players, however, who had their suspensions lifted, allowing them to compete in League’s upcoming 2024 Summer Split.
Although there hasn’t been an official confirmation on the exact reasons for the bans, the VCS did mention that it “will not tolerate any actions that affect competitive integrity.” This could mean a plethora of things, but ultimately, the actions taken by some of these players involved were severe enough that they were banned for life.
Many of the players violated Article Three of the Esports Global Code of Conduct, which has a whole collection of wrongdoings, including cheating, studio and venue interference, threats, bribery, gambling, matchfixing, and more.
Other players, however, violated Article 4.1 of the code, which says all pros “must report any violation of the Code of Conduct to [Riot] upon becoming aware of the violation.” This means these players were likely aware of their teammates’ actions but did not report them to officials. Any violators of Article 4.1 were given relatively shorter ban times, but none are lower than eight months.
Some notable names who were hit with bans include Trần “BeanJ” Văn Chính, Lê “Gloryy” Ngọc Vinh, and Bùi “Froggy” Văn Minh Hải, who all have made appearances at international League events for the region.
