Dragon Gate Permanently Removed from LMS for Match-Fixing Scandal
Hong Kong-based esports team Dragon Gate has been permanently removed from the League of Legends Master Series (LMS) after a recent league investigation uncovered evidence of match-fixing and illegal betting on professional games. The investigation revealed that Dragon Gate finished in last place during the 2019 LMS Spring Split with a record of 2-12. This scandal has resulted in severe consequences for the team and its members.
The team owner, Hu Wei-Jie, has been banned from any affiliation with a Riot-sanctioned tournament. Additionally, Dragon Gate’s jungler, Liu “JGY” Yang, has received an 18-month suspension. Both coach Fan “yoga” Jiang-Peng and manager Li “xiaoyu” Xin-Yu have been suspended for 12 months. These punishments highlight the seriousness of their involvement in the match-fixing scheme.
Dragon Gate’s top laner, Huang “2188” Jin-Long, recently released a statement on Facebook regarding the match-fixing scandal. According to his statement, the team’s AD carry, Liu “Soul” Kai, was offered money to intentionally lose matches. However, when Soul declined the offer, he was replaced by substitute AD carry Jiang “YuLun” Yu-Lun for the final three weeks of the season. 2188 also claimed to have recorded a conversation during a dinner with the team owner, where it was mentioned that JGY had agreed to participate in the match-fixing. This information sheds light on JGY’s poor performance and attitude during the matches.
According to 2188, the team’s head coach, yoga, forced Dragon Gate to draft champions that they had never practiced with in official matches against Alpha Esports and ahq during the final week of LMS. In game two against ahq, 2188 had to play Kennen, a champion he wasn’t comfortable with. This suggests that the coach’s actions may have deliberately hindered the team’s performance.
Recent reports on Taiwanese website PTT reveal that the owners of Dragon Gate are suing Garena and Riot over their team’s suspension. This legal action indicates the team’s discontent with the consequences they face due to their involvement in the match-fixing scandal.
As a result of the investigation, Dragon Gate has been disqualified from participating in the 2019 LMS Summer Promotion tournament. Instead, Taiwanese team SuperEsports will be replacing them for the upcoming 2019 Summer Split. This decision ensures fair competition among teams and sends a strong message against match-fixing in esports.
esports, Dragon Gate, LMS, match-fixing, professional games, league investigation, team owner, banned, suspension, top laner, scandal, consequences, AD carry, coach, legal action, SuperEsports