Invictus Gaming jungler Lu “Leyan” Jue is being punished by Riot as a result of inappropriate behavior toward a giant “Lotso” teddy bear.
Invictus Gaming jungler Lu "Leyan" Jue is being punished by Riot as a result of inappropriate behavior during a live stream toward a giant plushie of Lotso, the strawberry-scented bear who served as the villain in Toy Story 3.
Riot will be fining Leyan and his team 50,000 ($6,900) and 20,000 ($2,760) Chinese yuan, respectively. Additionally, Leyan will serve a two-match suspension as outlined in the official penalty notice.
The stream during which IG Leyan's inappropriate behavior occurred during a competitive break for Invictus Gaming. They had already been eliminated from the LPL Spring Playoffs on April 1. Thus, Leyan's punishment is not able to take effect immediately.
As a result, his two-match suspension will affect the team's first two best-of-three series of the upcoming Summer Split. While not ideal, the team will at least be thankful they have some time to prepare.
Leyan and Invictus Gaming respond
Shortly after the punishment was announced by Riot, Invictus Gaming released a statement via Weibo. In it, they acknowledged Leyan's words and actions as "inappropriate." They also shared that they "educated and criticized" Leyan and would deduct two months from his salary.
Leyan also took to Weibo to post his own comment in regard to his now controversial livestream. Translated into English, it reads, "It’s not what everyone thinks. The bear was too big. The music in the headphones was rocking at that time. I just thought the bear was cute, so I hugged it and shook it."
Leyan has not publicly stated anything specifically commenting on Riot's punishment.
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