LPL issues lifetime ban to naiyou following match-fixing case at Top Esports

The LPL, the Chinese league of League of Legends, moved quickly on the match-fixing case around Yang “naiyou” Zi-Jian. Just a few weeks after the situation was made public, the young Chinese jungler has now been handed a lifetime ban from all competitions organized by Riot Games and Tencent. The former jungler was also released by his team this Friday, March 27, with the organization stating that “All outstanding salary, match bonuses, and team benefits owed to the player will be withheld.”

On March 6, one day after notifying the league, Top Esports publicly announced that an investigation was underway involving their jungler naiyou. Reading between the lines, the organization suspected match-fixing, stating that “the club initiated an investigation into possible actions violating competitive integrity.” The very next day, March 7, the team’s head coach Chang “Poppy” Po-hao said during a live watch party that naiyou “admitted that every game we lost in playoffs he match-fixed.”

A shockwave for the community, especially given the timing. For the first time, the playoffs of a major League of Legends league were affected by match-fixing. Just hours after making these statements, the Chinese coach walked them back and issued an apology on Weibo: “At present, I am not aware of the latest investigation results or the specific details, so I ask everyone to please refer to the league’s official findings as the authoritative source.”

It was not until this Friday, March 27, that official conclusions were announced. While the exact timing of the offenses was not disclosed, the outcome is unequivocal. In its statement published on Weibo, the LPL confirmed:

It is only the second player with LPL experience to be handed a lifetime ban from all official competitions, following Chen “Jay” Bo in 2022 (TyLoo, Vici Gaming, LGD Gaming), based on research.

A logical outcome, following the work of a “special task force” assigned to the case as soon as Top Esports informed the league. According to the LPL, “naiyou engaged in multiple serious violations during official matches, directly and/or indirectly compromising competitive integrity,” which led to these sanctions. However, the league emphasized that “this ruling is not the end of the matter.” The statement adds that “the disciplinary team will continue to pursue further inquiries,” noting that “relevant information and suspicious external individuals will be shared across the league ecosystem and with related parties to ensure that those who undermine the integrity of the league have no place to hide.”

Alongside this announcement, Top Esports also confirmed the end of their contact with the player, including the termination of future salary and bonus payments, while outlining internal measures to address such issues. “The club will conduct a comprehensive anti-match-fixing awareness and education program, and will strengthen internal management, match monitoring, and risk control mechanisms to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future,” the organization stated on its Weibo account. A strong stance that closely aligns with the LPL’s messaging.

Beyond the ban itself, the league also addressed the organization’s handling of the situation. It highlighted that the club had “actively cooperated with the investigation by providing substantial evidence,” but also pointed out that “the club demonstrated serious deficiencies in its day-to-day player management.” This echoes rumors from March 6 and 7, when several figures in the Chinese esports scene claimed that Zi “” Jiaqi, TES’s AD Carry, and Lin “” Jian, the team’s midlaner, had personally asked CEO Guo “Hao” Hao to investigate naiyou.

According to reports circulating on Weibo at this time, the two players even warned the organization that if no action was taken, they would escalate the matter directly to the league, suggesting that the club may not have taken the initial concerns seriously. In its statement, the LPL added that Top Esports failed to “detect and prevent the misconduct in a timely manner.” The league also issued a rare public warning to the organization and other teams: “All clubs are urged to take this as a warning, strengthen player education and supervision, and work with the league to uphold competitive integrity.”

In conclusion, the LPL once again stressed this point, this time addressing players directly. “All professional League of Legends players are urged to value their careers, avoid taking risks, and uphold professional ethics and moral standards,” the league stated, adding that “any behavior compromising competitive integrity is a cancer to the industry.”