The intricate dance between pro players and the auto-ban system in League of Legends took an unexpected turn after the 2023 Worlds when T1 Faker, a 4 times Worlds winner, found himself on the receiving end of an unforeseen suspension.
The catalyst for this suspension was a rather unusual culprit—an internet outage in Busan, the city where he was situated.
Faker got a 2-week ban from Riot Games
In League of Legends, a consistent internet connection is paramount for uninterrupted gameplay. Any drop in connectivity can lead to a player being forcibly disconnected from the game, leaving their champion stranded in the spawn area. This not only disrupts the flow of the match but also has the potential to incur penalties from the auto-ban system if such disconnections become recurrent.
In Faker’s case, the unexpected suspension unfolded during a solo queue session, where he was detected by the system for going AFK due to the above mentioned internet outage in Busan. Despite the circumstance being beyond his control, the auto-ban system issued a 14-day suspension based on reports of him leaving the match.
Swiftly acknowledging their error, Riot Games promptly rectified the situation by lifting the suspension on the world champion. However, Faker, known for his professionalism, took it upon himself to extend an apology letter to the developers, expressing understanding of the unintentional mishap.
“Im sorry, i wont leave the game again”
The incident gained additional visibility as one player in Faker’s match was streaming the gameplay and captured the moment when Faker experienced the disconnect. Subsequently, this player reported the incident, inadvertently triggering the suspension for the Worlds winner.
While the situation revealed a glitch in the system, Riot Games’ prompt response in unbanning Faker underscores their commitment to fairness and the integrity of competitive play. The incident serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between automated systems and the nuanced scenarios that can arise, even for professionals like T1 Faker.