The biggest names in esports often fall under heavy scrutiny and criticism from fans. But a recent wave of hostile remarks and online harassment towards players has led popular esports organization T1 to face the issue head-on.
T1 released a statement today addressing online harassment, saying it would take legal action against those who make “violent virtual attacks” against members of the organization.
“We value our community’s fandom and acknowledge that criticism comes with the territory of professional gaming; however, recent incidences have threatened our team’s health and safety—overstepping the lines of fandom with violent threats and hate speech,” T1 CEO Joe Marsh wrote.
A Message from @JoeMar pic.twitter.com/SHsDVYmhFA
— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) August 9, 2020
Marsh said if the violent threats and hate speech continue, the organization will take legal measures to put an end to hostility aimed towards players or staff.
T1 isn’t the only LCK organization to issue a statement regarding harassment online. Yesterday, Hanwha Life Esports released a Facebook post calling on fans to “refrain from excessive criticism” that can affect players’ mental health. The team welcomed constructive criticism and encouragement but said it would take “legal measures” against continued excessive harassment. T1 recently eliminated Team Dynamics from playoffs.
The series began well for the Dynamics roster. They acquired early gold leads via kills and the first Rift Herald. But T1 focused on acquiring the first two dragons instead due to how powerful the Dragon Soul buff is.
As the game went by and teams began to teamfight, the superior draft from T1 showed results. Canna on Wukong landed crucial ultimates to demolish the Dynamics roster. After taking the Baron buff, T1 closed out the game to get a head start in the series.
In the second game, Dynamics were not able to replicate their success from the first game. Even though they drafted around Caitlyn—which is arguably the best meta ADC—they couldn’t funnel enough resources into her to carry.
The fact that T1 drafted great counters to the pick didn’t help as well. Camille got ahead and isolated Caitlyn from her members alongside Kha’Zix, which left no time for her to do any damage.
After securing the first Baron of the game, T1 replicated their tactic from the first match and pushed to end the game and the series on a high note.The former League of Legends world champions face Afreeca Freecs, DRX, and Damwon Gaming in the final weeks of the 2020 LCK Summer Split.
