TF Blade accuses Riot of “racism” after being banned in Korea

Joe O'Brien

League of Legends streamer TF Blade has accused Riot Korea of ‘racism’ after his account on the South Korean server was banned.

TF Blade is a streamer and substitute player for Team Liquid. Though his home server is North America, he has recently been playing in South Korea in his latest attempt to reach rank 1 on another server, having previously held the spot on the North America, Latin America North, EU North East, and EU West servers.

His efforts suffered a setback recently, however, when his account – a Riot guest account allowing him to player on the Korean server – was banned. Following the ban, TF Blade revealed that the cause of his ban was “verbal violence” in chat.

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TF Blade disputes the allegations, however, showing off the evidence sent to him by Riot, which he claims is not sufficient to warrant an account ban. Instead, he claims he is being individually targeted by Riot and being held to different standards than other players would be.

“I literally feel targeted at this point. Not gonna lie, I genuinely feel targeted by Riot. This is actually becoming a mess. This is it. One game by the way. No warnings, no nothing. One game.”

TF Blade went on to run through the chat logs, explaining that while he did get into a dispute with another player over a play he felt was incorrect, he didn’t feel it was “verbal violence.” Instead, he claims that the ban against him was “racist.”

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“I’m gonna say it, this is being racist. I do actually feel targeted. I came on the server, they told me I have to change my language from English to Korean. Why? If I change my language from English to Korean, when somebody pings the Flash, I don’t know what champion it’s for. I can’t count any timers, right? And they’re telling me if you don’t change it, they’ll take your account away.”

TF Blade did make it clear that he has no dispute with the Korean players or fans in general, and his issue is only with Riot Games.

“I love Korea, and I love the Korean fans and everything, but I wouldn’t say I like the Riot Games here. The fact that they made me change my language from English to Korean and they’re banning me for this, I don’t like the Riot Games here. But I do love the fans, and I do love the majority of the pros, the ones that actually care about the game.”

It’s currently not clear how long TF Blade’s account will be banned for, or if he will be unbanned at all. In the meantime, however, it seems his attempts to reach rank 1 on the Korean ladder will have to be put on hold.

Dexerto has reached out to Riot Games for comment on the ban and TF Blade’s claims.

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About The Author

Joe O'Brien was a veteran esports and gaming journalist, with a passion and knowledge for almost every esport, ranging from Call of Duty, to League of Legends, to Overwatch. He joined Dexerto in 2015, as the company's first employee, and helped shape the coverage for years to come.