S15 match-fixing scandal erupts! Korean foreign player criticized: deliberately lost to Faker, now showing patriotism

Hello to all LPL viewers and League of Legends summoners, this is Tianxia Game Report.

The S15 World Championship has finished all the Swiss round matches, and after yesterday's games, the quarterfinal draws took place on-site, with the LPL region drawing a very strong half-bracket.

Editor

TES and AL will join forces to target Faker, while off-stage, a fresh wave of match-fixing rumors has broken out.

S15 match-fixing controversy, Korean foreign player under fire

As is well known, whenever players make outrageous mistakes in League of Legends matches, audiences often suspect match-fixing. Usually, judgments are made based on the player's current situation, possible mindset, and error analysis to determine whether the player is just unskilled or involved in match-fixing.

Editor

In a fourth-round Swiss match, 100T’s jungler River from the LTA region was suspected by viewers of deliberately playing passively, raising significant match-fixing suspicions. After the match, many domestic and international fans heavily criticized this player.

Notably, 100T’s opponent in this match was T1. T1 did not win easily in this round, but some mistakes by 100T caused them to miss the chance to defeat T1.

Let’s review the match to see whether this player was simply unskilled or intentionally throwing.

The most suspicious play happened in the first game. Around the 40-minute mark, 100T was behind, and mid-laner Quad on Sylas tried to initiate a teamfight with an all-in attempt, but River’s actions on Wukong were very questionable.

Strict scrutiny on Korean junglers, is patriotic loyalty beginning?

When Quad on Sylas initiated the fight, 100T teammates immediately followed up to quickly eliminate enemies, but the crucial jungler Wukong delayed entering the fight. Despite having Flash available and teammates already engaged, Wukong did not join initially, and later Faker’s Taliyah ultimate interrupted the engagement.

Even in this situation, Wukong could have used Flash and ultimate to join the fight, but he didn’t, resulting in a teammate’s death and 100T retreating.

The most outrageous part was that River never used a single ability or attack during the entire fight, remaining at full health and mana.

In the subsequent Elder Dragon teamfight, River’s play was still questionable. While T1 was contesting the dragon and their Alistar initiated, River stayed on the outskirts with Guardian Angel, Flash, and ultimate ready, but refused to engage and the match ended soon after.

It didn’t stop there. In the second game, River’s Pantheon also showed suspicious behavior. At 21 minutes during a gank on Galio, Doran had already Flash-collided into a wall, making his death certain if River held onto his W, but River let go of W, allowing Galio to use his ultimate and escape.

Retiring next year, match-fixing suspicions may rise

The story continues: Quad’s Akali dashed in with E and Galio, and Pantheon followed with his ultimate. However, when Akali started dealing damage, Pantheon delayed using Flash to enter, effectively sacrificing teammates. Only after Jarvan’s arrival did Pantheon use Flash, but it was too late. Akali’s team originally didn’t need to use Flash to kill Jarvan, but eventually Flash was used to secure the kill.

In summary, River’s performance against T1 was definitely off. Personally, I believe the absurd play in the first game alone warrants a match-fixing investigation. It will be interesting to see how 100T teammates evaluate this Korean player during post-match reviews.

A teammate on Wukong with full skills, health, mana, ultimate, and Flash refusing to join fights, and twice abandoning teammates on the edge of the battle — even in casual games, teammates would openly accuse such a player of throwing or being a troll. This led to widespread jokes about patriotic loyalty.

Moreover, it’s important to note that River has already announced retirement next year and plans to return to Korea for military service. Thus, even if punished, ending his final match with some highlights might not matter much to him.