30 Aug 2012
Posted by Mary-Anne Lee 
Can you say kelong?
League of Legends esports teams Curse NA and Team Dignitas have had their titles and prize money withdrawn by Major League Gaming (MLG) after being found to have manipulated their first round of finals.
“MLG regrets to announce that we will not be awarding 1st or 2nd Place finishes for the Summer Championship League of Legends Event. We have determined that there was a collusion between the two final teams, Curse NA and Team Dignitas,” said Major League Gaming in a statement.
The two teams were found to have agreed to play the first round of the final match in the ‘All Random, All Mid’ style, where players select random champions and fight only in the middle lane.
According to PC Gamer, both MLG and Riot Games are said to be in agreement over the decision. A rule from MLG’s Official Pro Circuit Conduct states that competitors may not intentionally forfeit a game, or conspire to manipulate the rankings or brackets.
The teams were denied a combined total of US$40,000 in prize money.
Curse NA has since issued a public apology video, but the damage has already been done. The North American circuit might be able to put this incident behind them, but the gamers fighting to establish esports in less accepting parts of the world may very well have this fiasco held against them.
(Source: PC Gamer. Photo: Dualshockers)
