Cao “Shitouren” Liang

Incident

Underperformance

Ruling

This ruling has been presented in an exceptionally detailed manner to provide transparency and visibility into our assessment process for this specific case. While Riot Games remains committed to transparency, competitive integrity and fair decision-making, the level of detail in this ruling should not be interpreted as a standard expectation for future rulings.

TIMELINE

On March 15, 2025, Cao Liang (“Shitouren”) played in the final match of the day for the Into the Arcane Tactician’s Crown with seven other competitors, including Li Guangcan (“LiLuo”) and Yin Shengjie (“Saopimi”). Shortly after the conclusion of the match, Riot Games was made aware of allegations that Shitouren may have underperformed in order to deliberately lose in a match-up against Saopimi, which may have guaranteed LiLuo’s progression in the tournament.

Upon becoming aware of these allegations, Riot Games conducted a preliminary assessment of the facts and, based on the information at its disposal at the time, issued a ruling* on the matter on March 15, 2025. In this ruling, Riot Games concluded the following:

“While we are not fully satisfied that Shitouren’s overall performance in the game fell below expected standards, it is evident that the player made suboptimal decisions during the concerned round in question. While Shitouren’s strategic choices in the match were unconventional and may have resulted in a higher probability of losing the game, there is no compelling evidence to suggest that these decisions were made with the intent to deliberately underperform [...] Accordingly, Riot Games finds that Shitouren did not breach Article 4.2 of the Riot Games Esports Global Code of Conduct. No disciplinary action will be taken in this matter.

Upon issuance of this ruling, the matter is considered closed, and the ruling is final and cannot be appealed. However, if new, substantive evidence comes to light, it may warrant a review of the matter at the discretion of Riot Games.”

After the March 15, 2025 ruling was released, Riot Games received additional information from its partners containing substantive evidence of potential underperformance by Shitouren that was not identified in the preliminary assessment.

Therefore, Riot Games reopened its review into the matter and reassessed its findings, examined the additional information, and spoke with Shitouren to hear his perspective on the additional evidence that was identified.

RELEVANT RULES

Esports Professionals must abide by the Riot Games Esports Global Code of Conduct, 2025 edition (hereinafter also referred to as the “Global Code of Conduct”). In particular, the below provision is relevant to the present case:

Article 4.2 Underperformance. Esports Professionals are expected to perform their respective duties and compete to the best of their ability in all Riot Esports Competitions. Intentional underperformance is prohibited.

RULING

After reviewing the additional information received from its partners, Riot Games reassessed the March 15, 2025 ruling, and found that Shitouren violated Article 4.2 of the Global Code of Conduct, which prohibits intentional underperformance.

The below is a summary of the findings. All facts and evidence available were considered. The below refers only to what is considered necessary to explain the reasoning of the case.

Riot Games’ objective in this review was to distinguish between natural competitive variance and deliberate underperformance or match manipulation, with a rigorous and fact-driven analysis of gameplay performance, strategic decision-making, potential intent and any other relevant elements of the case.

Framework for Assessment

To determine whether a breach of Article 4.2 of the Global Code of Conduct occurred, Riot Games conducted a multi-layered assessment, recognizing that the elements of performance and intent are deeply intertwined. A finding of intentional underperformance requires not only evidence of suboptimal gameplay but also a clear determination that the actions were deliberate:

Performance Evaluation – Riot Games assessed whether the player’s in-game performance fell below the expected competitive standard for the level of play and tournament in question. This evaluation considered objective gameplay data, tactical decision-making, and contextual factors such as game state, strategy execution, and the player's historical performance trends.
Intent Determination – After the player’s performance was deemed below expectations, Riot Games then examined whether this was the result of intentional actions. Determining intent requires an analysis of the player's behavior within the broader competitive context. This evaluation includes a holistic review of the totality of information, including both direct and indirect evidence. Even if no single piece of information is directly conclusive, multiple indicators pointing toward underperformance may establish a compelling case for intent.

Given the inherent variability in professional gameplay, the burden of proof for intentional underperformance is high. A ruling of deliberate underperformance must be supported by compelling evidence or overwhelming indicators pointing in the same direction that a player knowingly and intentionally acted against their competitive obligations. Simple mistakes, strategic experimentation, or unexpected performance fluctuations do not, on their own, constitute a violation of Article 4.2 of the Global Code of Conduct.

Considerations

Based on the additional information, Riot Games carefully reviewed whether there were any additional indicators suggesting that Shitouren deliberately underperformed during the match. Based on this evaluation, Riot Games found several instances where Shitouren made choices that do not meet the bar of what is expected of a professional player. These instances, when viewed together, show a pattern of underperformance that occurred during the March 15th, 2025 match that cannot be explained as mere mistakes, strategic experimentation, or unexpected performance fluctuations. Riot Games spoke with Shitouren to understand his decision-making process for these additional identified instances of underperformance and found that his explanations were not sufficiently convincing.

The key consideration that supports the finding of underperformance includes:

During Stage 5-2, Shitouren opted not to complete a 2-star Gangplank available in the shop. When reviewing this decision with Riot Games, Shitouren explained that he was scouting the entire round to maintain his win streak. However, upon review of the live data, Riot Games notes that this scouting resulted in no positioning changes or other actions that round, including a conscious decision to not star up Gangplank despite having the economy and time to do so. These decisions do not line up with expectations for players competing at this level of play, nor does it match Shitouren's level of play in other games during the tournament.

Other considerations that further demonstrate a pattern of underperformance include, but are not limited to:

During Stage 6-1, Shitouren did not pick Redemption from the item anvil until sixteen (16) seconds after combat started for the round. During the interview, Shitouren stated that the delay was because he was still considering his options from the item anvil after not being offered the items he was looking for. Riot Games reviewed live statistics data for Shitouren during the tournament to understand how Shitouren typically interacts with item anvils on Stage 6-1, and found that this was the only instance during the event where Shitouren opened the item anvil after combat started.

During Stage 6-3, Shitouren swapped three completed items from a three-star Violet to a two-star Vi, believing it could alter the outcome. During the interview, he acknowledged that this may have weakened his board but was an attempt to salvage a deteriorating position. In the prior ruling, Riot Games found that this decision, in isolation, was not enough to support a finding of intentional underperformance. However, these decisions made by Shitouren are all indicators pointing in the same direction showing that Shitouren intentionally underperformed during this match. Furthermore, the explanations provided by Shitouren do not provide sufficiently compelling reasons to justify these decisions.

CONCLUSION

Shitouren’s overall performance in the game fell below expected standards for a professional player at this level of competition, and it is evident that the player made suboptimal decisions on multiple occasions during the game. When viewed as a whole, Shitouren’s actions demonstrate a pattern of underperformance that cannot be reasonably attributed to in-game adaptation, desperation due to a losing position, mechanical constraints, or any other compelling reasons. Accordingly, Riot Games finds that Shitouren breached Article 4.2 of the Riot Games Esports Global Code of Conduct.

Cao “Shitouren” Liang is suspended from participating in any associated or affiliated Riot-sanctioned competition through Set 14, until July 14th, 2025, and forfeiture of all prize money earned from the Into the Arcane Tactician’s Crown. Furthermore, Shitouren is warned that any further violations of the Global Code of Conduct may result in additional penalties.

*Original ruling published by @CompeteTFT on March 15, 2025.