Three players and one coach at the League of Legends World Championship in South Korea were fined various amounts for negative solo queue behavior, and 12 other players have received warnings for similar behavior, Riot Games announced Sunday.
None of these disciplinary rulings will affect the starting lineups of their teams at the world championship, but several marquee players and coaches were among those named by Riot.
Jian "Uzi" Zi-Hao, the Royal Never Give Up AD carry who is widely considered the best player in the world entering the tournament, was fined $2,000 for griefing his teammates and intentionally feeding on an account that did not belong to him, the latter of which is strictly prohibited under the LoL terms of service, according to Riot Games.
Gambit Esports jungler Danil "Diamondprox" Reshetnikov and Invictus Gaming top laner Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok were both fined $1,000 following in-game reports filed against them, according to a statement from Riot. In Diamondprox's case, his prior disciplinary history was cited. TheShy was fined for intentionally feeding and toxic language.
Afreeca Freecs coach Choi "iloveoov" Yeon-sung was fined $1,500 as well. He was reported in more than 70 percent of his solo queue games for negative behavior. This, combined with a prior disciplinary action in League Champions Korea, led to the fine.
A dozen preliminary warnings were issued to a list of players from various teams without fines as well. Team Vitality's Daniele "Jiizuke" Di Mauro, Amadeu "Attila" Carvalho and Minkook "Dreams" Han; G2 Esports' Luka "Perkz" Perkovic and Petter "Hjarnan" Freyschuss; Cloud9's Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen; Gambit Esports' Stanislav "Lodik" Kornelyuk; Invictus Gaming's Gao "Ning" Zhen-Ning and Song "Rookie" Eui-jin; EDward Gaming's Zhe "4LivcloveR" Li; and Afreeca Freecs' Lee "Mowgli" Jae-ha and Lim "Comet" Hye-sung were issued those warnings.
The disciplinary measures follow an individual suspension by Riot Games during the play-in stage. Dire Wolves player Shern "Shernfire" Cherng Tai missed matches during worlds due to "racially and culturally insensitive statements," according to Riot. The nature of the comments, Riot said in a statement, is what separated Shernfire and other players' past punishments from the fines and warnings issued Sunday.
Several incidents, including account sharing and racially insensitive comments, have led to bans at worlds in the past. In 2014, Svenskeren was suspended by Riot Games, and IMAY'S Yun "Road" Han-gil faced a similar penalty in 2016. According to a Dot Esports report from 2014, then-Counter Logic Gaming players Austin "Link" Shin, Marcel "dexter" Feldkamp, Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng and Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black received $1,250 fines and two-year bans from OGN Global and Korean e-Sports Association competitions because of account sharing.