Cloud9 Tempest Banned from Competition for Using Ringer
Cloud9 Tempest, a Challenger Series team in League of Legends, has been banned from competition for the remainder of the Spring Split. The team used a ringer in their qualifier match against Team Confound, violating the rules set by Riot Games.
On Feb. 4, Cloud9 Tempest chose to use one of their analysts instead of their support player, Ritchie “Fade” Ngo, who had not patched his tournament realm client. When Cloud9 upper management, including team owner Jack Etienne, found out about this, they contacted Riot Games and reported the incident.
As a result, Cloud9 Tempest, its players, and their manager, Danan “Kaniggit” Flander, have been suspended for the rest of the Spring Split. The team is also disqualified from the current Challenger Series, with Team Confound advancing in their place. Additionally, the Cloud9 organization is suspended from sponsoring a Challenger team during the Spring.
In a fortunate turn of events for Team Confound, they will now compete in the Challenger Series under the name Team SoloMid Darkness, as they have been picked up by the top regional team.
Cloud9 was also fined for the incident, although the Tempest team did not have any prize winnings to be penalized with. Despite the organization coming forward and taking responsibility, Riot Games held them accountable for the poor handling of the situation at the Cloud9 Tempest level.
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