Riot is once again handing out permabans and suspensions from the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), this time to two European players who were both part of teams looking to qualify for the LCS in this coming week’s EU qualifier event. Both Ilyas “EnVision” Hartsema and Damien “Linak” Lorthios have been banned from participation from the event due to repeated reports for poor behavior in-game, as well as multiple punishments for these incidents.
Ilyas “EnVision” Hartsema previously received 18 punishments across multiple other accounts, resulting in two additional permanent bans. Hartsema may be better known to some EU players as “Shookl2″, the name he used to rack up one of the highest number of harassment reports ever. Before that Hartsema was reported for poor behavior 436 times while playing only 135 games on an account named “JungleReject”. His “enVision” account has received reports in 29% of the games he has played, that’s 6x more than the average EU player gets reported. 70% of those reports were for Offensive Language, Verbal Abuse, and Negative Attitude. The “enVision” account alone has been punished 5 times in just the past two months. Hartsema was part of team Mousesports.
From the official Posting:
Analysis
Hartsema has consistently engaged in behavior which violates the letter and spirit of the Summoner’s Code. His persistent tendency to engage in verbal abuse, insults and offensive behavior is unacceptable for any player, especially a high-profile eSports competitor who has a regular opportunity to lead the community by example.
Ruling
Hartsema has violated the Summoner’s Code in a systematic and unrepentant fashion.
Penalties
Hartsema is:
- Ineligible to compete in the LCS Season Three European Qualifier in Warsaw, January 25-27, 2013.
- Ineligible to compete in the LCS for a period of one year; this suspension shall commence immediately.
Damien “Linak” Lorthios has been punished by the Tribunal seven times, with 38% of the reports being for Offensive Language, Verbal Abuse, and Negative Attitude. He has been reported in 20% of his total matches at a rate 4x greater than the average player. Lorthios received 7 punishments on a previous account which was also permabanned. Riot says that Lorthios’ behavior has actually worsened in the last three months, even as his team, Against All Authority (aAa), moved towards this week’s upcoming LCS qualifier. The post notes incidents of similar behavior outside of the game, which I can only take to mean he has behaved poorly at live events.
From the official Posting:
Analysis
Lorthios has consistently engaged in behavior which violates the letter and spirit of the Summoner¢s Code. His persistent tendency to engage in verbal abuse, insults and offensive behavior is unacceptable for any player, especially a high-profile eSports competitor who has a regular opportunity to lead the community by example.
Ruling
Lorthios has violated the Summoner¢s Code in a systematic and unrepentant fashion.
Penalties
Lorthios is:
- Ineligible to compete in the LCS Season Three European Qualifier in Warsaw, January 25-27, 2013.
- Ineligible to compete in the LCS for a period of one year; this suspension shall commence immediately.
While some have questioned the timing of these rulings, it seems clear that the end result is justified and warranted. It is sad that the outcome of these actions negatively affect the members of the suspended players’ respective teams and their hopes for qualifying for the 2013 LCS, but the blame should not be placed on Riot. The blame rests solely on the shoulders of the players who choose to behave in such a poor manner, and seem to not learn from past incidents. The behavior of these players, as well as the punishment handed down by Riot, is very similar to what happened with Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera earlier this year. It’s not difficult to be respectful while remaining intense and competitive. One simply must choose to do so. Neither Hartsema nor Lorthios chose that path, and now they are paying the costs of such irresponsible behavior.
Feel free to leave a comment and let us know how you feel about these bannings. It was kind of short notice, so I’m sure you guys have opinions on how it was handled.
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