CONTEXT
On 31 May 2023, PCS received a report from J Team indicating that Yu-Long “LONG” Ma (馬鈺龍) was planning to manipulate the outcome of a match for monetary gain with an external individual that is known to provide online betting and boosting services.
According to the report, J Team conducted an internal investigation and gathered evidence, such as screenshots, audio recordings, and chat histories. J Team directly confronted Yu-Long “LONG” Ma (馬鈺龍), admitted to his wrongdoing after additional evidence was presented.
Yu-Long “LONG” Ma (馬鈺龍) has since signed a confession letter acknowledging his wrongdoing and accepting any penalties and fines that may be imposed. Riot Games has granted Yu-Long “LONG” Ma the right to be heard and has since submitted an additional statement.
RELEVANT RULES
Article 8.1.1.1 of the LoL Pacific Championship Series 2023 Ruleset provides the following:
8.1.1.1 Collusion. Collusion is defined as any agreement among two (2) or more players and/or confederates to disadvantage opposing players. Collusion includes, but is not limited to, acts such as:
8.1.1.1.1 Soft play, which is defined as any agreement among two (2) or more players to not damage, impede or otherwise play to a reasonable standard of competition in a game.
8.1.1.1.2 Pre-arranging to split prize money and/or any other form of compensation.
8.1.1.1.3 Sending or receiving signals, electronic or otherwise, from a confederate to/from a player.
8.1.1.1.4 Deliberately losing a game for compensation, or for any other reason, or attempting to induce another player to do so.
RULING
In view of all of the above, Riot found that there was substantial evidence that Yu-Long “LONG” Ma (馬鈺龍) violated Rule 8.1.1.1 (Collusion) of the LoL PCS 2023 Ruleset.
When assessing the appropriate sanction to be imposed on Yu-Long “LONG” Ma (馬鈺龍), Riot took into consideration all the facts surrounding the present case and assessed whether mitigating or aggravating circumstances could apply. In particular, Riot took into consideration that the present case was only planning to collude but that no actual collusion occurred and that Yu-Long “LONG” Ma (馬鈺龍) admitted to his wrongdoing in a confession letter.
Furthermore, collusion, specifically in an attempt to manipulate the outcome of a match, is detrimental to the integrity of our competitions and is considered a serious breach of Riot’s and the PCS rules. Moreover, such conduct directly contravenes general principles of fair play and good sportsmanship.
Consequently, Riot decided to ban Yu-Long “LONG” Ma (馬鈺龍) for 18 months from participating in all Riot-affiliated competitions
Finally, Riot noted that the above sanction is in line with recent decisions it has passed when sanctioning comparable cases.
