Riot responds to win trading and match fixing in Wild Rift

Olivia Richman Published 02/04/2021

Riot has provided an official response to Wild Rift’s ongoing match-fixing and win trading issues, announcing that it is a bannable offense in a recent blog post.

Win trading is when players queue together in Wild Rift in an attempt to end up on opposite teams. One of the players will then intentionally perform poorly and feed their opponent, causing their team to eventually lose the match. This ruins the competitive integrity of the game. It’s commonly done at higher ranks within Wild Rift.

But now Riot Games is calling it a bannable offense. Known offenders will be “immediately banned,” according to communication lead Ben Forbes. Those players will have all Ranked Season 1 rewards removed and their accounts will be reset to Iron IV.

????PSA: This is no April Fool’s.
We’re taking action on win trading and match fixing.

Details here: https://t.co/HtS2H0STlY pic.twitter.com/C0AL2gVCye
— League of Legends: Wild Rift (@wildrift) April 2, 2021

Riot defines win trading as “any number of methods where players manipulate the matchmaking queues.” Forbes noted that it causes a “huge amount of pain” for players in those games. It also affects the integrity of the Wild Rift leaderboards.

Accounts with the highest win trading activity will be permanently banned. Other accounts with evidence of win trading will be banned for seven days “as a warning,” Riot continued. Their rewards will be removed and their rank will be reset. Anyone on that list who attempts to match-fix in the future will be permanently banned as well.

“We know that, much like other forms of cheating, win trading is a constant arms race and that we won’t catch everyone each time in a ban wave. We’re working on some systemic changes to combat this and will have more to share a bit later,” Forbes said.

To avoid punishing innocent players during this crackdown, Riot will be “cautious” about the criteria they’re using. This protects players caught in the middle of win trading who weren’t part of the plot.

Riot called “competitive integrity” one of the biggest focuses for Wild Rift this year. Win trading is just one part of this overall issue. Riot will also be improving their approach to game imbalance, cheating, and forms of disruptive behavior in the coming months. In-game stability will also be a focus for the developers.

Is Wild Rift available?

Wild Rift is currently available on all mobile devices, including iOS and Android. It’s not available on PC.

How many GB is Wild Rift?

This mobile MOBA is only 1.5 GB in size. That’s the minimum required space for the game.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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