Team Liquid
Ruling
TL;DR
Riot Games has found that Team Liquid breached Art. 8.2 of the 2025 VCT Global Policies (hereinafter referred to as the “Global Policies''). Consequently, Team Liquid is fined $4,000 USD, and is warned that any further failure to meet the expectations set out in the Global Policies may result in escalated penalties.
CONTEXT
On January 6, 2025, Riot Games informed Team Liquid that the version of the team’s jersey used during matches of VCT EMEA was not approved for use during global events, including Masters Bangkok. On February 20, 2025, several players from Team Liquid wore the unapproved version of their team jersey during the match against EDG at Masters Bangkok, implicating Team Liquid in a potential breach of Art. 8.2 of the Global Policies. Riot Games initiated disciplinary proceedings against Team Liquid and invited Team Liquid to submit a statement, which was considered when assessing the case.
RELEVANT RULES
VALORANT Champions Tour Esports professionals must abide by the Global Policies. In particular, the below articles are relevant to the present case.
Art. 8.2 Team Uniform.
Players must wear approved apparel (“Team Uniform”) to all official matches. The Team Uniform includes the following mandatory elements: Team Jerseys, Legwear, and Shoes.
Art. 4.3 Conditional Categories.
Sponsorships in any of the Conditional Categories for each League [...] may be conditionally approved by the League Entity in its sole discretion on a case-by-case and region-by-region basis in accordance with Applicable Law and other criteria established by the League Entity [...] Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless prior express written approval is provided by League Entity, sponsorships that fall under any of the Conditional Categories shall not be placed on any Team Uniform and shall not be promoted or displayed at global events or International Competitions (i.e., Masters and Champions). [...].
RULING
After conducting an investigation and providing Team Liquid with the right to be heard, Riot Games has found that Team Liquid breached Article 8.2 of the Global Policies.
When passing its ruling, Riot Games took into consideration the specific circumstances of this case, the seriousness of the offense committed, as well as all aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The below summarizes Riot’s most relevant findings only.
Riot Games took into account Team Liquid’s statement that the team had prepared alternate versions of the team jersey for the players to wear during the event, and that the use of the unapproved team jersey was an unintentional error.
When assessing Team Liquid’s statement, Riot Games considered the fact that after being informed of the use of the unapproved team jersey, Team Liquid took prompt action to ensure that all of its players wore the alternate version of the team jersey that had been prepared by Team Liquid. However, even though the use of the unapproved team jersey was unintentional, the team nonetheless has an obligation to ensure that all of its players and staff adhere to all of the rules, including the Global Policies.
Given the findings, Team Liquid is fined $4,000 USD, and is warned that any further failure to meet the expectations set out in the Global Policies may result in escalated penalties.
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.