Riot Games has excluded LoL player Chien “Maoan” Mao-An (18) from the LoL Worlds 2021. The Taiwanese is the midlaner for the team “Beyond Gaming.” He is accused of leaking sensitive information and thereby jeopardizing the integrity of eSports. His career in League of Legends seems over.
This is the situation:
- Currently, the LoL Worlds 2021 are taking place in Iceland: In the play-ins, teams from smaller regions like Taiwan are also playing, including the team “Beyond Gaming.” They have now won an important series against Galatasary Esports and had the chance to qualify for the main event.
- Especially in Asia, there is a lively betting market for League of Legends. You can bet on everything there, apparently even on which champions a team will pick.
- The midlaner of Beyond Gaming is said to have leaked information about the champions his team selects. Consequently, he was banned from the Worlds and fired from his team. They lost without him and were eliminated.
Riot Games excludes 18-year-old from the World Championship
What did Maoan do? Riot Games says:
They have definitive evidence that Maoan leaked “insider information” to a friend to bet on a match at the LoL Worlds.
Therefore, he has been excluded from the remaining matches of the LoL Worlds and further penalties may follow after an investigation.
Player allegedly leaked information about his team’s lineup
What other sources say: There are reports that elaborate on this scant message from Riot Games (via twitter).
Leaked screenshots apparently show that Maoan revealed his team’s “champion picks” ahead of the match at the LoL Worlds to an unknown person. He is said to have said: “Sylas and Orianna, but don’t buy too much, it’s just a high chance.”
These screenshots were leaked. The head of Maoan’s team, Beyond Gaming, then spoke with Maoan, who admitted his mistake – the head then informed Riot.
The team leader believes: The screenshot was leaked because Maoan’s information was incorrect. The team played neither Sylas nor Orianna against Galatasaray. The leader suspects: That is why the leaker apparently lost money on his bet, became angry, and released the screenshot.
Player banned just before the most important match of his career and then fired
What makes this story so tragic: The match that was bet on was likely the most important match in Maoan’s career. His team Beyond Gaming narrowly defeated Galatasary Esports in a thrilling KO series with 3-2. They even accomplished a “reverse sweep,” coming back from 0-2 to win 3-2:
After the victory against Galatasaray, Beyond Gaming had the chance to play against Hawnha Life, the “Church of Chovy.” The winner of the match advanced to the main round of the LoL Worlds 2021.
But because Maoan was banned, Beyond Gaming had to put an inexperienced top laner in the mid lane, who then also played out of position – and that against Chovy, one of the best mid laners in the world.
The stand-in player went 3/14/10. Beyond Gaming lost hopelessly 0-3.
Furthermore, it is said that the owner of Beyond Gaming announced in a stream that Maoan would be fired.
Who has now qualified for the main round? Without Beyond Gaming, the favorites have advanced:
- LNG Esports – from China
- Hamwha Life Esports – from South Korea
- Cloud 9 from the USA with Perkz
- Detontation Focus Me – from Japan
It is striking how few Americans are participating in the LoL Worlds 2021:
New statistics show: US players perform poorly in LoL and are getting worse
