In an extremely ironic flip of occasions, Korean Valorant star Seungmin “ban” Oh has been handed a brief ban from competing at Riot Video games occasions following an investigation into matchfixing allegations.
In recent times, ban has been a mainstay within the VCT, having competed in each North America and the Pacific area, although he by no means actually broke into the very best echelons of competitors in both area.
Nevertheless, he gained’t have the chance to enhance on that reality within the subsequent 12 months, as he has been banned by Riot Video games for violating their Code of Conduct relating to match integrity.
ban Hit With 12 Month Ban For Matchfixing
The ruling stems from Ban’s conduct surrounding a VCT Pacific 2025 match between ban’s workforce, International Esports, and Staff Secret, performed on July 19, 2025. Riot decided that ban breached Article 4.14 of the International Code of Conduct by partaking with people who proposed match manipulation, together with discussions that concerned monetary phrases.
Whereas ban claimed that he didn’t intend to hold out the proposed manipulation or intentionally underperform throughout the match, Riot said that intent just isn’t required for a violation to happen. Below the Code, merely entertaining proposals or partaking in discussions associated to match-fixing constitutes a breach, no matter whether or not manipulation is finally carried out.
The investigation started on August 27, 2025, after Riot grew to become conscious of on-line posts containing unverified screenshots allegedly discussing match-fixing inside VCT Pacific. Riot appointed Sportradar to conduct an impartial investigation, which included interviews with related events and witnesses, concluding on November 18, 2025.
Though Riot mentioned it couldn’t conclusively confirm the authenticity of the screenshots or show that ban deliberately manipulated the match, witness testimony and supporting proof indicated engagement in match-fixing-related exercise. A aggressive efficiency evaluate of ban’s gameplay was additionally performed, however didn’t set up deliberate underperformance.
ban’s Punishment
Disciplinary proceedings have been formally initiated on December 3, 2025, with ban submitting a written response the next week. Riot cited ban’s self-reporting of the incident to workforce administration previous to disciplinary motion as a mitigating issue when figuring out the sanction.
Because of this, ban is suspended from all Riot-sanctioned competitions for 12 months with rapid impact and should full an permitted integrity and ethics coaching program earlier than re-entering the esports ecosystem. Riot confirmed the ruling is ultimate, although it could be reviewed if new substantive proof emerges.
