Does Sam Bankman-Fried play League of Legends? Former FTX CEO spotted playing popular game

Sam Bankman-Fried and his addiction to League of Legends (Image via Sportskeeda)
Sam Bankman-Fried and his addiction to League of Legends (Image via Sportskeeda)

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, often referred to as SBF, has recently been at the forefront of financial news after the stunning collapse of his cryptocurrency empire.

For those out of the loop, FTX, a Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange, filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. This was followed by Sam, the then-CEO, resigning from his position. At one point, Sam was reported to have a net worth of a whopping $26 billion.

Regardless of the intricacies of the crypto world, Sam Bankman-Fried is known for one more thing - League of Legends, the popular MOBA game published by Riot Games. According to venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, he was once seen playing the game in a meeting with them.

When the FTX collapse report hit the news, a Twitter user shared a screenshot indicating that SBF was playing LoL at the time of the furor. They posted:

A Twitter user catches SBF playing LoL (Image via Twitter)
A Twitter user catches SBF playing LoL (Image via Twitter)

Did Sam Bankman-Fried really play League of Legends?

As one might have guessed, the answer to the above question is "yes." Sam Bankman-Fried has tweeted more than once regarding his attachment with League of Legends. In 2021, he made a series of tweets on the topic of the game that reflected his devotion to LoL.

In a tweet made in February 2021, SBF stated:

"I'm (in)famous for playing League of Legends while on phone calls."

In the follow-up tweets, Sam reiterated his commitment to the game, revealing that he regularly divulges into it. However, he could not answer why he was so attached to LoL. He stated:

Continuing with a series of tweets, he added that similar to addictions to drinking and gambling, LoL is his opium. He wrote:

"Some people drink too much; some gamble. I play League."
SBF on his LoL addiction (Image via Twitter)
SBF on his LoL addiction (Image via Twitter)

Elaborating on his addiction to the game, SBF revealed that he engages in it to stop his mind from spiraling into a multitude of thoughts. He added that he had previously tried Netflix as a solution; however, due to the wide range of never-ending content, he was unable to focus. He said:

"I'll close Netflix, and pull up some sports; but unless there are multiple games I care about on at that time, it's not compelling enough to distract me. Netflix was too compelling; sports, too boring."

Is Sam Bankman-Fried good at League of Legends?

Despite spending hours playing the game, Sam Bankman-Fried, by his own admission, is not the best of League of Legends players. He tweeted that his growth in the game has been minimal and noted:

"I know I've said its name enough to imply I'm good at it, but I'm really not. It's actually embarrassing how little I've grown at it."

Did Sam Bankman-Fried really play League of Legends during a meeting?

As stated earlier, according to the founder of Sequoia Capital, SBF was "caught" playing LoL during a corporate meeting with the firm. Ramnik Arora, FTX's head of product, revealed:

"I sit ten feet from him, and I walked over, thinking, 'Oh, sh*t, that was really good,' and it turns out that that f**ker was playing 'League of Legends,' through the entire meeting."

At this point, neither the cryptocurrency empire nor the LoL ranks appear to be moving in the right direction for SBF. It remains to be seen if he will make any further statements regarding either of his ventures.

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