14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer Riot Games announces that it has suspended eight players and has eliminated all the rewards received during the season of the official League of Legends championship for those who have been found to have engaged in Elo-boosting.
The practice is illegal because it involves logging into the accounts of other players in order to boost one’s own ranking in the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena title.
Riot Games states on the official forums of the game that, “An investigation has determined that seven LCS North American pro players (plus one team coach) have been engaged in Elo-boosting. These violations occurred as early as the middle of Season Two and some have continued until recently.”
The official Terms of Service for League of Legends does not allow players to share, sell or in any way trade user accounts or login information.
The team adds, “Boosting leads to less-skilled players confronting a far superior opponent (the booster) during the boost and also leads to less-skilled clients being placed onto higher-skilled teams after the boost has been completed.”
The names of those involved are: Brandon “Dontmashme” Phan, Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black, Samuel “Chuuper” Chu, William “Meteos” Hartman, ChengLong “NyJacky” Wang, Keith “Phranq” Hunter, Kennen “Rhux” Santos and Jake “Xmithie” Puchero.
The crackdown on Elo-boosting is necessary because League of Legends is one of the video games that dominate the eSports scene.
The team at Riot Games wants to keep the game as competitive as possible and is constantly banning those who break the official rules.
Recently, the game has also received a series of patches which, in addition to gameplay balances, have aimed to make the experience more welcoming to newcomers.
The game will soon face tough competition from DOTA 2, the Valve MOBA that’s currently in beta, and from Blizzard All-Stars, which might be officially revealed before the end of the month.