Wait, why?!
TheShy Gets Permabanned from Korean LoL Server
Weibo Gaming's top laner Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok was streaming the other day, when his account got banned. A multitude of viewers watched as the former World Champion tried to figure out what happened and why he couldn't log back into the game.
According to a new rule from Riot Korea, he was likely perma banned from the Korean League of Legends server, something the top laner clearly wasn't aware of.
Even Pro Players Get Permabanned by Riot
On January 12, 2023 TheShy was streaming some games on the Korean server, when he got logged out and was unable to log back in. He received a suspension message and when he realized what had happened he cut his stream to figure out what the issue was.
It seems his account is still banned because looking at his OP.GG has no games history and a very odd username.
The reason why he was banned? Not due to inting, girefing or being toxic, but rather due to Riot Games Korea introducing a new rule to the Korean server at the start of January 2023. Last year many Korean solo queue players complained about some Chinese players in their games and it seems that Riot Korea has done something to combat the issue.
To improve the competitive environment "accounts rented to foreign pros have been suspended". Players who visit South Korea for bootcamps with their teams will be able to get rented accounts, but once they leave the country they cannot keep them. Those accounts will only be allotted for the time that they're in Korea.
So even though TheShy is a native of South Korea, his status as an LPL player stops him from using a rented account on the server. Whether these measures will improve Korean Solo Queue will be seen this year, since many Korean players, both pro players and high level streamers spoke out in 2022.