TL;DR

• In accordance with our long-term suspension policy, we have reviewed Incarnati0n, DarkwinJax, Flaxxish, Shizoli, and the members of former Cloud9 Tempest.
• DarkwinJax failed his review due to ongoing toxicity and is having his suspension extended by 4 splits.
• Incarnati0n has displayed genuine reform over a prolonged period of time and passed his review, making him eligible for professional play starting May 11, 2015. Incarnati0n’s past permabanned accounts will remain banned.
• Flaxxish and Shizoli have made some progress, but still fall short of LCS standards of conduct.
• All of the former C9T members passed their review and will be eligible for competitive play starting May 11, 2015.

Context

Last year, we revised our approach to bans and permabans to focus on the goal of reform, not just punishment. In accordance with that policy, we have reviewed all of the currently suspended players who are eligible for a review. We only suspend players for serious offenses, and we look for clear signs that a player has taken their reform seriously in determining whether their suspension should be lifted. As we mentioned in November: “Each review is holistic and takes into account both in and out of game behavior. Penalized players need to show through their ongoing actions that they have made a genuine and long-term change in their behavior.” Below are the results of the 2015 Mid-Year Suspension Reviews. The players who have met or exceeded the normal standards of good behavior and will be eligible for competitive play this summer are:

• Nicolaj “Incarnati0n” Jensen
• Former Cloud 9 Tempest players and staff:
  • Colin “Solo” Earnest
  • Anthony “Hard” Barkhovtsev
  • David “Yusui” Bloomquist
  • Benjamin “LOD” deMunck
  • Ritchie “Fade” Ngo
  • Tim “Timokiro” Cho
  • Danan “Kaniggit” Flander

The following players have failed this review:

• Manu “Shizoli” Bansal (eligible for review in advance of the 2016 Spring Split)
• Olof “Flaxxish” Medin (eligible for review in advance of the 2016 Spring Split)
• Khaled “DarkwinJax” Abusagr (suspension extended an additional 4 splits for ongoing extreme toxicity)

Review Summaries

Nicolaj ‘Incarnati0n’ Jensen

Past Rulings

Review Summary Since his last review, Jensen has continued to demonstrate behavior in game that is well above the normal standards of good behavior across all of his accounts since at least January 2014. Additionally, according to our monitoring tools, he has not been implicated in any DDOS or Drophacking-related exploits since Q2 2013. There have been no serious offenses or violations of the letter or spirit of the Summoner Code since his account-sharing related offense in Q1 2014. Conclusion Jensen is eligible to play in Riot-affiliated League of Legends tournaments including but not limited to the LCS and CS starting on May 11, 2015. To clarify: Jensen will not be eligible to play in any 2015 Spring competition, including Promotion/Relegation tournaments. Jensen’s past permabanned accounts will remain banned, as will any content he lost as a result of his original offenses. Reform is meant to earn players second chances, not undo all of the consequences of their past actions. Additional Context Jensen is the first formerly permabanned player ever to be admitted back into professional play. His original offenses were very serious in nature, as were the punishments levied. Jensen has been ineligible to play competitively for 5 splits across 3 seasons of professional play. He needed to meet a high standard of in and out of game conduct, exceeding the standards set for a typical LCS player or someone with a fixed suspension. In evaluating his case, great care was taken to ensure that all of his accounts were audited, that there was no evidence of account sharing or exploits, and that, in our qualitative judgement, Jensen had made a serious effort to exceed normal standards of good behavior, even when it was difficult to do so. In this most recent review, in addition to a review of old and secondary accounts through November, all games on his most recent primary account for which there was a shadow of a doubt regarding Jensen’s behavior were individually analyzed. When evaluating whether a person who committed serious transgressions in the past is a different person today, we use a combination of quantitative data about their in-game behavior and our own judgment in determining whether the player in question has truly changed his ways. All the data supports the conclusion that Jensen has legitimately reformed and has earned a second chance. If he decides to enter the LCS or CS, we will hold him to the same high standards we hold all professional players to and will continue to monitor his in-game behavior.

Khaled “DarkwinJax” Abusagr

Past Rulings

Review Summary Abusagr continues to display unacceptably negative behavior without any significant progress toward reform. His most active account has been reported in 47% of his games in the last 90 days and 50% in the last 60. He’s received a total of 1830 reports in 590 games. 70% of which were for offensive language, verbal abuse or negative attitude. An audit of chat logs from games he has been reported in reveals consistently offensive, hostile, and homophobic rhetoric. His behavior is statistically not as problematic as it has been in the past, but is still far from acceptable and moreover, any statistical improvements he has made are incidental, not the result of a commitment to reform. Conclusion Given Abusagr’s absolute lack of commitment to reform even given an opportunity to do so, his ban has been reclassified to indefinite with an additional Minimum Suspension Term of 4 additional splits. He will be eligible for review prior to Summer 2017. If at that point he still has yet to exceed the normal standards of good behavior, an indefinite suspension with no review will be considered.

Olof “Flaxxish” Medin

Past Rulings

Review Summary Flaxxish has made some efforts toward reducing the frequency of his negative interactions with other players. However, when he does exhibit negative behavior, it is to a degree that is not acceptable for a professional player – including threatening to AFK and verbal abuse. He has been reported in 35.8% of his games over the last 90 days. Flaxxish has made some progress, but does not yet meet normal standards of good behavior. Conclusion Flaxxish remains ineligible for competitive play and will be reviewed again in advance of 2016 Spring Split.

Manu “Shizoli” Bansal

Past Rulings

Review Summary Shizoli still frequently demonstrates hostility and toxic behavior toward his teammates in solo queue, having been reported in 15% of games played over the last 30 days. His account was recently ranked restricted due to toxicity. In light of his continuous abusive treatment of his fellow players Shizoli received a ranked restriction in early March. His conduct falls well short of the standards a professional player is held to.Conclusion Shizoli remains ineligible for competitive play and will be reviewed again in advance of 2016 Spring Split.

Former Cloud9 Tempest

*Even though the former C9T players and staff were not suspended for in-game behavior, they are still subject to a case review in advance of the LCS Trade Start Date of April 28 due to their fact that their suspension was roughly 1 split in duration. We include all suspensions of 1 split or more in our review to ensure that players who expect to be eligible to play after their fixed suspension period can explore their signing options well in advance.Past Rulings

Players

• Colin “Solo” Earnest
• Anthony “Hard” Barkhovtsev
• David “Yusui” Bloomquist
• Benjamin “LOD” deMunck
• Ritchie “Fade” Ngo
• Tim “Timokiro” Cho
• Danan “Kaniggit” Flander

Review Summary None of the former C9T players or staff had behavioral issues at the time of their suspension and they all continue to exhibit conduct in line with the normal standards of good behavior. Conclusion All of the former C9T members listed will be eligible to play in Riot-affiliated League of Legends tournaments including but not limited to the LCS and CS starting on May 11, 2015. To clarify: These members will not be eligible to play in any 2015 Spring competition worldwide, including Promotion/Relegation tournaments.