Cover-Credits:
LGD Gaming mid-laner Chen “Jay” Bo has been permanently banned from attending or competing in all professional or semi-professional events by Riot Games, Tencent, or Tengjing Sports (TJ Sports) in any part of the world in any capacity with immediate effect. On 5th April, Jay was suspected of match-fixing and compromising the integrity of the competition.
In a Weibo post dated 8th April, the discipline management team of League of Legends Pro League (LPL) announced that based on investigation and evidence, and verification with relevant parties, it had identified that Jay violated many of the league’s rules.
Even though the details of his match-fixing were not revealed by the authorities, from the screenshots that earlier surfaced, it appears that Jay was in conversation with an unidentified person and match-fixed games against Bilibili Gaming and Top Esports.
LGD mid-laner violated rules of the league
LPL and its discipline management team wrote on Weibo that it set up a special investigation team and launched an in-depth probe on 5th April into the situation with Jay as soon as LGD Gaming reported it.
It said, “Player Chen Bo (ID: Jay) of LGD e-sports club has improper behaviors that affect[ed] the fairness of LPL games and participates in illegally organized betting on League of Legends events, which has violated Article 11.1 of the ‘2022 League of Legends Professional League Competition Rules.’”
It further added that Jay violated Article 11.1.1.1 (being involved in match-fixing), 11.3 (being involved in gambling), and 11.2.5 (obstructing investigations).
The team also pointed out that in 2021, it had emphasized that it would handle future gambling cases and violations with stricter standards and repeatedly trained and educated players.
According to the facts, nature, and circumstances of the case, the LPL made the following punishment decisions:
LGD mid-laner Jay will be suspended for life for violating relevant regulations, with immediate effect.
Jay is prohibited from participating in professional and semi-professional competitions organized by Tencent, Tengjing, and Riot Games in any part of the world in any capacity henceforth.
Jay will not be allowed to stream League of Legends on any broadcast platform.
The LPL authorities also stated that LGD Gaming was not penalized since it took the initiative to immediately report Jay’s violations and actively cooperated with the league to complete the investigation.
“Once again, the league will resolutely punish all kinds of violations of laws and disciplines, crackdown on behaviors that disrupt the order of normal events, and resolutely guarantee the fairness of League of Legends esports events and the healthy development of the esports ecosystem,” the LPL stated.
LGD Gaming’s announcement
LGD Gaming made the following statement on Weibo: “LGD E-sports Club supports the decision of the league and dismisses Chen Bo (ID: Jay), the club reserves the right to pursue legal responsibility.”
The organization stated that it dug deep into the evidence, prepared and completed the transcript of the investigation and interview, and provided all the data and evidence to the league.
“Following a joint investigation by LPL and LGD Gaming’s Supervision Center, the facts are clear and the evidence is indeed sufficient, confirming that player Chen Bo (ID: Jay) has improper behaviors that affect the fairness of the game,” it further added.
The Chinese premier league has had a history of players, managers, and coaches being involved in match-fixing in the past. In 2021, as many as three LPL players, and 35 League of Legends Development League (LDL) players, managers, and coaches were issued various punishments ranging from suspensions to lifetime bans.
