Le Hiep, DiaComSuon, and Cuticini will be banned from participating in professional esports events or competitions until 16 June next year due to their actions during the ESL Mobile Open Legends of Runeterra (Ladder 2) tournament on 16 June this year.
An investigation was launched by ESIC in response to a report from ESL Asia regarding suspicious activities by certain participants in the event. The probe focused on five accounts, three of which were operated by one individual, while the remaining two individuals each had one account.
ESIC’s investigation revealed that the three individuals colluded to cheat in the tournament by engaging in “boosting behavior,” where highly skilled competitors access lower-skilled players’ accounts to increase the rank of the account for monetary gain.
Based on the findings, ESIC concluded that the three individuals violated Article 2.4.4 of the Code of Conduct, which pertains to cheating or attempting to cheat in order to win a game or match. ESIC deemed this a Level 4 offense and therefore imposed a 12-month ban on each offending participant, providing them with a Notice of Charge detailing their offense and sanction.
These bans will apply to events organized by all ESIC members, including ESL, DreamHack, WePlay, BLAST, LVP, and Eden. ESIC has also requested non-member tournament organizers to honor these bans.
“ESIC is committed to safeguarding the integrity of the esports landscape,” stated ESIC. “We believe that maintaining competitive integrity is crucial for the long-term sustainability and viability of esports.”