Riot Games fines Gen.G Ruler after chat restriction violation

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Gen.G’s Ruler received a fine from Riot Games after violating their conduct rules for the second time. This is his second chat restriction penalty.

It’s common for players who primarily play Attack Damage Carry (ADC) in League of Legends to receive chat restrictions. However, for professional players like Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk of Gen.G, these restrictions can lead to significant fines. On January 9th, Riot Games fined Ruler for a second violation of the chat rules.

Ruler history of chat restrictions

Fans are familiar with Ruler receiving chat restrictions. Recently, Riot Games found that Ruler had been restricted from using chat while looking at potential team members during the 2026 LCK CUP/LCK CL on October 2nd, 2025.

Riot Games expects players to be respectful at all times, not just during official events. Pro player Ruler broke this rule with inappropriate chat behavior and was fined 800,000 Korean won, which is about $800.

Riot Games had previously warned and restricted Ruler’s in-game chat. In March 2025, they explained this was due to verbal abuse during a player search for the LCK and LCK CL. He was restricted from chatting again for seven days during a similar player search for the 2026 LCK CUP and LCK CL Kickoff.

Joo “Duro” Min-kyu recently mentioned on his livestream that the opposing team reported Ruler during a game.

What happens now?

The player is required to pay the fine, and no other punishments will be applied. However, if Ruler breaks the rules a third time, he may be fined up to 3 million won (around $2,045) and/or suspended from up to 10 games. He could even be banned from competing in both the LCK and LCK CL.

The penalty amount is decided by the LCK Penalty Index. If you receive a written notice of a penalty, you have 14 days to request a review from the eSports Fair Trade Commission. If you don’t request a review within that time, the LCK Office will finalize the penalty.

Pro Players and chat restrictions

It’s actually quite common for players to receive chat restrictions, even before they turn pro. Two well-known examples are Los Ratones Juš’s “Crownie” and Simon “Baus” Hofverberg, who are both known for having faced these restrictions.

Even Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang, who won the League of Legends World Championship in 2019, received a chat restriction on the Korean server for sending repetitive messages. He stated, “I’ve played this game for a decade and this is the first time I’ve ever been banned.”

Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok, the League of Legends World Champion from 2018, has faced multiple chat restrictions and was permanently banned from Korean solo queue in early 2023. This ban stemmed from breaking rules about using borrowed accounts, following earlier issues with intentionally losing games and using offensive language in chat.

Despite facing potential penalties from Riot, some players continue to use offensive language in chat, which can lead to temporary chat restrictions or even permanent account bans, depending on the server. What happened with Ruler isn’t unique and could occur with other players down the line.

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2026-01-12 18:11