Beyond Gaming’s Maoan banned from Worlds 2021 by Riot Games

Beyond Gaming midlaner Chien “Maoan” Mao-An has been suspended from the 2021 World Championship and may be on the shelf for much longer than that.

Allegations surfaced after the fourth day of the Play-Ins, accusing him of leaking Beyond Gaming’s draft strategies to help someone in betting on the series. According to a tweet from caster Jenny “Reirachu” Lee, Beyond Gaming’s owner, Xue “DinTer” Hong-Wei said they would be firing Maoan ahead of an investigation into the situation.

Reirachu revealed that a screenshot of a chatlog involving the player, showing him discussing the betting.

“There’s also a rumor that someone else besides Maoan is involved in leaking PB. Also, Dinter thinks the original leaker did so because the player said ‘Sylas and Orianna’ and neither of them were picked today so they probably lost money and were mad,” Reirachu said.

Summary [1/4]:
1. a screenshot of maoan's chat got leaked, with him saying "Sylas and Orianna, but dont buy too much it's just a high chance"
2. the person who posted the screenshot deleted their account
3. BYG's boss Dinter says on stream that he asked Maoan if it's true

— Reirachu (@Reirachuu) October 8, 2021

The controversy comes following Beyond Gaming’s play-in victory over Galatasaray Esports, which the team won in 3-2 fashion. Though the allegations center around gambling, Maoan is not accused of collusion or match fixing.

As a result of Maoan’s suspension Beyond Gaming will be forced to compete with a substitute for its upcoming best-of-five match with Hanwha Life Esports. Hanwha Life Esports was already a sizable favorite ahead of that match and the removal of Maoan will only reinforce that.

Maoan banned before Worlds 2021 match with Hanwha Life Esports

Riot Games issued their competitive ruling after the news broke, banning the player for the remainder of Worlds 2021. In a statement on Twitter, Riot Games explained that Maoan violated Rule 9.3, which states that gambling is prohibited.

Competitive Ruling: Chien "Maoan" Mao-An pic.twitter.com/x4c8Lhw5n7

— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 8, 2021

Rule 9.3 of the World Championship ruleset reads “no team member or World Championship event official may take part, either directly or indirectly, in betting or gambling on any results of any WCE game, match or tournament.”

As a result, Maoan will be suspended for the remainder of the 2021 World Championship. He may also be subject to additional penalties after a full investigation is completed. DinTer has posted an apology on Facebook, asking for Maoan to play on Saturday, October 9. But this is most likely impossible due to Riot’s ruling.