Players on the League of Legends’ South Korean servers have endured relentless DDoS attacks for several months. With one of the world’s most notable League teams, T1, affected and unable to train or stream, Riot is prioritizing the resolution of these attacks.
Over the past year, the South Korean League servers have been volatile with many streamers and pro League players falling victim to DDoS attacks. After T1 begged Riot to “fulfill their responsibilities” and take action, Riot head Andre “Riot Meddler” van Roon revealed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on June 9 that the team understands how frustrating the situation has become and that his team is “investigating what’s causing these latest problems.” The developers have been working closely with T1 since the beginning of 2024 to find solutions to prevent DDoS attacks.
Because DDoS attacks are a harmful means to overwhelm servers, Riot cannot release too much information about what the team discovered while analyzing these attacks, or the plans and procedures the developers will take to mitigate and prevent them from occurring. This is because it would just encourage further attempts and allow the attackers to continue wreaking havoc on the servers. Meddler’s message is just a response intended to reassure fans and players on South Korean servers that Riot is aware of the DDoS attacks and is working with T1 to remedy the situation.
However, this is where many players struggle. They recognize that T1 has been subjected to DDoS attacks for months, and the team requires a secure environment to practice and stream in order to meet their contractual responsibilities. Still, fans are wondering why the devs are only talking to T1 and what’s being done for everyone on the KR server because, as fans have pointed out, “KR players have been complaining for months about DDoS attacks,” and that these DDoS attacks “can easily switch to teammates in the same game” as the pros. To address the underlying issue, a more comprehensive strategy is required.
Unfortunately, we are all on the outside looking in, so we have no idea how Riot is managing the matter or what the developers intend to do. However, it demonstrates that these DDoS attacks are significant, and that security measures must be installed not only on KR servers, but on all servers.
With the LCK Summer Split starting on June 12, the prevalence of the DDoS attacks on the KR servers—and historically in the LCK—doesn’t bode well for T1 or the rest of the teams for this upcoming split.