TL;DR: Jang "EMENES" Min-soo violated the League of Legends Championship Series Rule Set (“2023 LCS Rule Set”) by using derogatory and offensive language against another player via in-game chat during a ranked matchmaking game. Consequently, EMENES is fined $15,000 USD, and is required to complete an educational training course on professionalism before the start of the 2024 LCS competitive season.

CONTEXT

All team members of a League of Legends Championship Series (“LCS”) team must abide by the 2023 LCS Rule Set, which prohibits the use of any offensive and/or discriminatory language in-game and out-of-game. Players and coaches participating in the LCS and its associated qualifiers must also pass league-administered behavior checks in order to compete.

TIMELINE

On September 15th, allegations regarding EMENES’ behavior in a matchmaking game were brought to Riot Games’ attention. Subsequently, Riot Games opened a formal investigation into the matter, and reviewed the chat log of the affected matchmaking game. The review of the logs showed that i) EMENES’ directed offensive and derogatory statements toward another player using the in-game chat system, and ii) the recipient of these statements did not type anything into the in-game chat system to provoke such a response from EMENES.

During the course of the investigation, Riot Games also performed a behavior check on EMENES’ recent matchmaking games, which revealed that EMENES has received a high number of reports from other players via the in-game reporting system. The review of the behavior logs for the reported matches identified several instances of behavioral misconduct that do not meet the standards expected of a professional player.

Throughout the course of the investigation, Riot Games reviewed i) screenshots of social media posts, and ii) in-game chat and behavior logs. During the formal disciplinary proceedings, EMENES was granted an opportunity to state his case, which he did through a written statement. EMENES’ statement, as well as his public apology, were taken into consideration by Riot Games.

RELEVANT RULES

2023 LCS Rule Set

Section 14.3.3: Behavior in LoL. All LCS Coaches and members of the Full Team Roster are subject to behavior checks and reviews for their behavior while playing LoL, including before being permitted to associate with a Team as an LCS Coach or as a member of the Full Team Roster. Team Members are expected to behave appropriately in-game and to avoid the use of derogatory, racist and offensive language as well as griefing and intentionally feeding.

RULING

Jang "EMENES" Min-soo used derogatory and offensive language against another player via in-game chat during a ranked matchmaking game, breaching Section 14.3.3 of the 2023 LCS Rule Set.

When assessing the appropriate sanction to be applied, Riot Games took into consideration all the aggravating and mitigating circumstances surrounding the case. Given that this is EMENES’ first offense as a professional player, Riot Games has chosen to adopt an educational approach to the sanction to address the multiple instances of misconduct from EMENES in ranked matchmaking games.

Therefore, EMENES is fined $15,000 USD, and is warned that any further violations of Riot Games regulations may result in escalated penalties. Furthermore, EMENES is required to complete an educational training course that provides guidance for appropriate behavior in a professional context. Said training must be completed before the start of the 2024 LCS competitive season (or prior to the start of any official Riot League in which EMENES intends to participate).

The training must be provided by an independent third-party service provider that is unaffiliated with EMENES and C9 (or whichever team employs EMENES). To ensure that the training provider meets the expectations described above, prior written approval for the training course must be received from Riot Games, and evidence of its completion must be provided to Riot Games (evidence of qualifications such as educational certificates, training and experience). Failure to comply with the said training requirement within the above-mentioned deadline, may result in further disciplinary procedures.