Video games can be serious business, and few games can elicit the sort of religious zeal that surrounds Riot Games’ League of Legends. The LoL esports scene has no shortage of drama, with unauthorized livestream controversies and even the occasional case of extortion.

Today marks yet another chapter in the history of LoL drama as Riot Games has announced the suspension of LoL commentator Martin “Deficio” Lynge for failing to disclose his connection with the Copenhagen Wolves esports team, who had apparently offered Lynge a job.

The job offer itself was not the cause of the problem, but rather it started when rumors arose last week suggesting that Lynge used his position as a commentator to provide the Wolves with inside information on the strategy of an opposing team during a competition.

While Riot did not discover evidence of Lynge sharing information with the Wolves, it did determine that Lynge used his relationship with the team to try to influence other players into playing for them.

Riot said in its ruling:

Although it’s not unusual for Rioters to be approached with offers from LCS organizations, it’s important that the organization and Rioter let us know as soon as an offer is made to raise awareness around potential conflicts of interest. In this case, we believe that Deficio showed poor judgment in navigating this conflict of interest. Over the course of our investigation we found evidence indicating that Deficio had begun speaking with several active LCS players – contracted and free agents – about their future and the possibility of working with them on the Copenhagen Wolves. These conversations influenced – or had the potential to influence – player decisions on where they chose to play, and affected the competitive integrity of the LCS.

In a Facebook post, Lynge apologized to Riot and to his fans, and he admitted that he had “made some poor decisions and not respected the seriousness of the matter.”

“I should have informed Riot about my offer the moment I received it and not discussed the situation with any active LCS players,” Lynge wrote. “When two friends talk one thing often leads to another and opinions get shared that should have stayed private.”

Riot has suspended Lynge from his broadcasting duties until week four of the current LCS EU season, and he will be removed from the casting desk for all future Copenhagen Wolves games.

photo credit: IMG_0331 via photopin (license)