**TL;DR:** Chiefs Esports Club (“The Chiefs”) displayed unsportsmanlike behavior inconsistent with the expectations of competitive integrity in the LCO. The Chiefs players have had their disciplinary status escalated and The Chiefs have been fined $2500AUD.
Context
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The League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO) Week 7 Day 1 took place on July 27, 2021. The Chiefs played a scheduled regular season game against MAMMOTH. Both teams were aware of the LCO Rule Set governing league play and had signed release forms agreeing to abide by LCO regulations and guidelines. Players are expected to uphold competitive integrity within all LCO games by maintaining good sportsmanship and playing to the best of their ability.
Timeline
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On July 27, 2021, The Chiefs played a scheduled regular season game against MAMMOTH. Despite their considerable lead and having aced their opponents, The Chiefs made active decisions to stall the match and ignored opportunities to win the game at the earliest reasonable moment. Further review of The Chiefs team communications audio files provided evidence that The Chiefs failed to maintain the principles of good sportsmanship and intentionally played at a level far below the best of their ability. Via voice communications, The Chiefs players gave clear instructions to teammates to move away from objectives with the goal of delaying the match for additional opportunities to kill specific MAMMOTH players and pad their KDAs. Within the game, The Chiefs players discussed responses to inquiries in the event that they were to be reported to the LCO.
After the game was complete, The Chiefs players made comments in Twitch chat, on Twitter, and in the post-game lobby which displayed further disrespect and unsportsmanlike conduct towards MAMMOTH.
During the course of investigation, the LCO Competitive Operations team reviewed (i) game footage; (ii) screenshots of post-game lobby chat; (iii) screenshots of Twitch comments from The Chiefs players; (iv) audio files of team communications. The LCO Competitive Operations team worked directly with ESL Australia, the LCO Tournament Operator, to source evidence and testimonials of Tournament Officials present in team communications during the game in question. After evaluation of the evidence at hand, the LCO Competitive Operations team issued a ruling in tandem with ESL Australia.
Ruling
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The Chiefs players displayed unsportsmanlike conduct during and after their game against MAMMOTH. This is a violation of Rule 9.1.1.2 of the LCO Rule Set. The Chiefs will be fined $2500 AUD and the following players will have their disciplinary status escalated to a probation level:
Tristan ‘Lived’ Fulcher
Ryan ‘Swathe’ Gibbons
Bao ‘Kisee’ Vo
Matthew ‘Mboma’ Desa
Dragon ‘Dragku’ Guo
The fine will be donated by the LCO to The Smith Family, a charity nominated by The Chiefs.
Relevant Rules
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- 9.1.1.2 Competitive Integrity
Teams are expected to play at their best at all times within any LCO game, and to avoid any behavior inconsistent with the principles of good sportsmanship, honesty, or fair play. For the purpose of clarification, team composition and the pick/ban phase will not be considered when determining whether this rule has been violated.
