CLG fined $10,000 for poaching Scarra; unable to use Scarra for 3 weeks

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) has been fined $10,000 by Riot Games for poaching William "scarra" Li from Team Dignitas. Additionally, CLG will be forbidden from fielding scarra as their Coach for the first three weeks of the 2015 League of Legends Spring Split.

Riot claims that George “HotshotGG” Georgallidis reached out to Li after the conclusion of the North American playoffs and communicated a desire to work with him. Li was under contract with Team Dignitas when Georgallidis contacted him.

Although Riot didn’t officially recognize coaches until this year, Whalen Rozelle, Director of Esports at Riot Games, stated that Li was a “substitute player signed to Dignitas at the time (as well as acting coach)” and that “It's less about what their position is and more about that Scarra was under contract.”

Riot also states that a CLG team member had a discussion about Li becoming the new coach for CLG, which was a clear violation of rule 10.2.12 (no player poaching) of the LCS Rule Book.

LCS officials were made aware of attempted player poaching in mid-October, around the time the DailyDot broke the news. When contacted, CLG and HotshotGG continuously made false statements and denied such poaching existed. Riot Games has since been provided of evidence of poaching by multiple parties.

You can read the full process on the LoLesports website, including the decision process that Riot considered when implementing the fine. They also state that their investigation relied on multiple anonymous sources so a full disclosure isn't possible due to the sensitivity of their positions.

While a $10,000 fine seems hefty, it pales in comparison to other regions like China. Earlier this year ACFUN esports club was fined $64,000 for poaching Qu "Styz" Ziliang from LGD Gaming. The managers involved in the transaction were banned from competitive League of Legends and Ziliang himself was banned for one year (shortened to six months due to good behavior).