League of Legends : Riot ban team over poaching scandal

Riot Games has imposed a significant ban against a team competing in the League of legends 2021 NA Amateur circuit.

ANEW and Trixter handed bans over league recruitment rules – League of Legends

ANEW Esports, an organization that has achieved success in the LCS Scouting Grounds events since it was formed in 2019, has seen a number of individuals hit hard by the signing of the jungler William “Trixter” Benoit. 

Riot claims that the organization was contacted by Trixter while Wildcard Gaming was signed and poached by the team. For the remainder of the season, Trixter as well as several individuals from ANEW Esports were handed over bans.

“ANEW management and coaching staff have been found to have extensively tampered with and poached Wildcard Gaming jungler William ‘Trixter’ Benoit, Trixter, Akash ‘ArgentumSky’ Gupta, Edward ‘Eddy Lee’ Lee, and Abhishek ‘Sidestep’ Samadder are prohibited from any association or involvement with a team in a Riot sanctioned league for the duration of the 2021 NA Amateur Competitive Season”

Player poaching has been a consistent problem in League of Legends in general. Riot Games has dealt harsh punishments to teams in the past, with the most best known being Renegades’ ejection from League of Legends.

What is player poaching and roster tampering in the league?

Player poaching and roster tampering in League of Legends are when one team is effectively trying to undermine the ability of another team to retain a contracted player. 

This has historically been a popular method across most traditional team sports, with leagues often setting strict guidelines on how and when contracted players are allowed to enter into negotiations with other teams.

In traditional sports leagues such as the NFL, coaches and franchise staff are prohibited from making any public or private openings to players from other teams outside particular circumstances. Franchises that violate these rules are usually subject to fines and losses for draft picks, the former being the most popular method in sports leagues.