League of Legends‘ “most toxic player” Tyler1 has been officially unbanned from the game, with the popular streamer having reportedly had his lifetime ban lifted by developer Riot Games.
Tyler1 was banned by Riot back in April 2016 for “verbal abuse, intentional feeding, as well as account sharing/purchasing, evasion of sportsmanship systems, and player harassment,” with Riot making its statement public regarding the decision. Tyler1, who proudly referred to himself as League of Legends‘ “most toxic player NA,” later went on to reevaluate his behavior, rebranding himself as the “most reformed player NA.”
While Tyler1 remains a divisive presence online, he has seemingly been getting his act together since his 2016 ban, with Riot now reportedly overturning the punishment that was handed to him. In a tweet, Tyler1 posted: “AFTER 613 DAYS OF INTENSE REHAB I AM FINALLY UNBANNED FROM LEAGUE OF LEGENDS.” He added that his next League of Legends stream will take place on Monday.
Tyler1 remained a hugely popular streamer and YouTuber despite the ban. Amassing nearly 900,000 followers on Twitch and over 750,000 YouTube subscribers, his online audience has continued to grow, and his unbanning has prompted a widespread reaction among League of Legends players.
Riot’s communications lead Ryan Rigney posted a message on Reddit regarding the decision, writing: “As we’ve said before, we don’t comment on the ban status of ID banned players. On a totally unrelated note, my desk at work is looking clean af right now.” He then included a photo of a mousemat reading “Tyler1 Reformed.”
Riot’s decision may have been prompted by Tyler1’s commendable response to comments made by one of their employees, after Aaron “Sanjuro” Rutledge telling users in a Discord chat that if Tyler1 dies “from a coke overdose or testicular cancer from all the steroids… Then we’ll be gucci.”
Rutledge’s comments were widely criticized by LoL players, though Tyler1 responded by saying that “it really sucks that some people hold a massive grudge,” before adding: “I have no hard feelings towards the guy.” Rutledge was later fired by Riot.
Hopefully, Tyler1 will continue his streak of good behavior into the foreseeable future, and it certainly seems like some Riot employees are on his side. Either way, it’s good to hear a player reflecting on their previous actions, and responding to such a punishment by working on improving themselves rather than doubling down on their toxicity.
