Absolute Legends Ghosting Scandal Resolved, Riot Disqualifies Players

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Riot Games has released a statement concerning the alleged cheating of Absolute Legends North America during an online qualifier last week. Four of the five members of that team will be disqualified from the online and live qualifiers for Season Three, perhaps ending their hopes of competing as a unit.

ggChronicle reported last week that members of Absolute Legends NA - Johnny “Unstoppable” Tran, Nicholas “Nubbypoohbear” Harlan, George “Zekent” Liu, and Robert “ROBERTxLEE” Lee – had taken part in the illicit act of ghosting during their match with Team Dynamic.

This involved taking advantage of Cruz “Cruzerthebruzer” Ogden disconnecting, and using the nature of how pauses work to discern the location of their opponents through the fog of war. A third party had been spectating the match from the outside, and was able to relay this information during a Skype chat.

As Ogden was not present for the time of the ghosting, it looks like he was able to escape punishment. was not punished. However, the others will likely be forced to seek employment elsewhere, as the lack of being able to qualify for Season Three as a team will be a huge problem. The post below disqualifies them from the tournaments, but not from joining another roster: we may have not seen the last of these players.

[Note: Above strikethrough edit was made to show that Ogden was not involved in any wrongdoing. The author realizes how his original wording may have suggested this, and apologizes.]

Riot’s full post:

Hi, Summoners –

The ruling below is the result of our investigation into the facts surrounding a ghosting incident at the recent IPL Season 3 Qualifier Tournament for the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). The tl;dr version is that we’ve disqualified the players involved from the remaining LCS Season 3 qualifying events in North America.

We’re disappointed in the decisions made by these players and believe that there are no excuses for breaking the rules in order to gain a competitive advantage over an opposing team.
Clean play and good sportsmanship are mission-critical for players seeking to compete in the LCS and for the entire LoL community.

League of Legends Competition Ruling

Region: North America
Players: Johnny “Unstoppable” Tran, Nicholas “Nubbypoohbear” Harlan, George “Zekent” Liu, and Robert “ROBERTxLEE” Lee
Date of Ruling: 01.02.13
Subject: Unfair Play; Violations of Summoner’s Code

Facts

• On December 23, 2012, at the IPL Season 3 Qualifier Tournament (the “IPL Tournament”), Absolute Legends (“AL”) played Team Dynamic (“TD”) in the final match of the tournament.
• The players for AL and TD played Game 1 of the Bo3 match with spectator functionality enabled.
• During Game 1, AL player Cruz “Cruzerthebruzer” Ogden allegedly experienced a series of online game disconnections, which led to several lengthy game pauses.
• During the pauses, a spectator in the game communicated via Skype with AL players Unstoppable, Nubbypoohbear, Zekent and ROBERTxLEE.
  • They requested information from the spectator about TD’s player positions and ward placements, among other things, and she provided such information to them.
• AL ultimately lost the match to TD.
• Since the incident, several of the players in question have publicly and privately confirmed that the actions of Unstoppable, Nubbypoohbear, Zekent and ROBERTxLEE were intentional and done for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage over TD.
  • Zekent posted a statement online here.
  • Screenshots of the Skype chat can be seen here and here.

Relevant Rules
The IPL Tournament rules (here) defer to Riot’s Season 3 Qualifier rules (here), which prohibit and establish the penalties for unfair play in Section 3.

In addition, The Summoner’s Code establishes the general standards of behavior for all League of Legends players.

Analysis
The actions of Unstoppable, Nubbypoohbear, Zekent, ROBERTxLEE and their confederate are commonly known as “ghosting,” which is when a game spectator illegally provides information about an opponent’s positions and/or movements.

This type of intentional behavior is a quintessential form of unfair play and the players involved do not dispute the relevant facts. They are, however, publicly remorseful about their actions and do not defend their conduct.

Ghosting also violates the Summoner’s Code, which guides players to exercise good sportsmanship and uphold high standards of behavior.

Ruling
On December 23, 2012, Unstoppable, Nubbypoohbear, Zekent, and ROBERTxLEE engaged in unfair play against TD by ghosting Game 1 of their match at the IPL Tournament. These actions also violated the letter and spirit of the Summoner’s Code.

Penalties
Unstoppable, Nubbypoohbear, Zekent, and ROBERTxLEE are each disqualified from participating in the:

1. LCS Season 3 North American Online Tournament, scheduled for January 4-6, 2013;
2. LCS Season 3 North American Qualifier, scheduled for January 11-13, 2013.

These disqualifications shall be effective, regardless of the current or future team affiliations of any of the players.

Future violations may result in additional penalties.

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