In a major match-fixing case in League of Legends, Hong Kong-based Dragon Gate has been permanently banned from the League Master Series.
The team's owner, Hu Wei-Jie, also was banned from being affiliated with any team, professional or amateur, in LMS or in a Riot-sanctioned tournament, according to a statement from the league.
Others receiving sanctions are jungler Liu "JGY" Yang (18 in-season months), coach Fan "yoga" Jiang-Peng (12 in-season months) and manager Li "xiaoyu" Xin-Yu (12 in-season months). Offseason months do not count toward the time served, according to the statement.
Dragon Gate finished in last place in the 2019 LMS Spring Split with a 2-12 record. A league investigation found cases of match fixing and betting on professional games.
Huang "2188" Jin-Long, the team's top laner, put out a statement on Facebook, saying that Liu "Soul" Kai, the team's AD carry, was asked to intentionally throw matches for $750 a match. Soul refused, and so the team tapped Jiang "YuLun" Yu-Lun to take Soul's place in the starting lineup for the final three weeks of the season.
Huang also said he recorded a conversation with the team owner over dinner, and Wei-Jie informed 2188 that JGY had accepted a match-fixing deal.
Reports say Dragon Gate intends to sue over the ban.
SuperEsports from Taiwan will be replacing Dragon Gate for the summer split. SuperEsports took first place in the 2019 Elite Challenger League Spring Playoffs.
-- Field Level Media
