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Chinese League of Legends pro Li ‘Vasilii’ Wei Jun has been banned from competing until 2020 by Riot Games for gross misconduct.
The player was suspended by Riot on October 27 after a domestic violence incident caught on stream audio by Wei Jun. They suspended the player and opened an investigation into the player, while his organisation, Newbee, immediately terminated his contract.
This two year ban is actually a death knell for the player’s career, but this appears to be with good reason. Riot’s finding is that Wei Jun made “credible threats of physical violence” towards his partner that led to her calling the police. The partner has said that Wei Jun damaged property in their home while uttering a string of verbal threats, information that is corroborated by the audio of Wei Jun’s stream, although video isn’t available as he started his rage by flipping his desk, with webcam attached.
"We consider the fact that threats of domestic abuse were made – and that they were made toward a defenseless person and in a private residence – to be aggravating factors." Riot said in its statement. "Whereas making these threats toward another another professional player on stage might warrant a 10 month suspension, physical intimidation and threats of domestic abuse should be punished much more harshly."
The player has had run-in’s before, in 2016 he caused severe damage to his team house after a losing streak, and he was sanctioned for a violent incident at the end of a competitive match in the same year.
Wei Jun has also changed Riot’s disciplinary procedures. As a result of this case, Riot have removed the 12 month maximum ban on players for “extreme misconduct” and there is no upper limit for future bans for this in the future. Wei Jun actually picked up a 20 month competitive ban, but the way that Riot’s competitive calendar shakes out, he won’t be able to compete until the 2020 Spring Split, if he returns at all.
