FPX's jungler Bo handed a 4-month suspension for match-fixing in League of Legends' Chinese Development league

FunPlus Phoenix's jungler Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo has been suspended from competitive League of Legends for 4 months, after being found guilty of match-fixing.

The 19-year old Chinese League of Legends pro was initially suspended for a temporary period at the end of February. The ban came into execution after Bo himself confessed to the LPL disciplinary commission regarding his involvement in match-fixing while in the League of Legends Development League (LDL).

I wonder if league officials will keep in mind that Bo was coerced into match-fixing, I guess it depends on the “evidence” but I’m not surprised at scummy folks taking advantage of teens, it’s esports after allTian’s condition’s also a big ? so overall this just, sucks..

— Linda Pro League 🦦 (@iCrystalization) February 22, 2021

Investigation reports indicated that Bo was “coerced” into “participating in "inappropriate behavior” in the 2020 League of Legends LDL season during his days with eStar Young in the Chinese Academy League.

Por último, y de forma adicional, @FPX_Esports ha decidido deducir 6 meses del salario de Zhou 'Bo' Yang-Bo. El club se opone a este tipo de comportamientos y, alegan, pretenden comenzar un camino saludable tras dicha rectificación.cr: https://t.co/dBh779PLpJ pic.twitter.com/LBFdKPkxYA

— ChinaGAP #EsLPL (@ChinaGAP_) April 22, 2021

As a result, an in-depth investigation of all the 43 teams (LDL and LPL), their players, coaches, and officials was done and finally, the League organizers have come to a conclusion.

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Bo apologized and "regretted his mistakes" for match-fixing in the Chinese League of Legends Developmental League

Image via FPX

After an extensive investigation into the issue, LPL authorities have found several guilty of match-fixing in the 2020 season. Along with Bo, ThunderTalk Gaming’s support Wang “Teeen” Yao-Ji and jungler Xiang “bless” Yi-Tong have been banned from participating in competitive play for the time being.

News) LPL, LDL match fixing investigation resultsFPX Bo, TT Teeen : suspended for 4 monthsTT bless : suspended for 12 months#LoL #LPL .@lplenglish https://t.co/0IrYKBeSiR

— kenzi (@kenzi131) April 22, 2021

LDL League of Legends side Shen Jie Gaming have also been suspended from professional Esports for an uncertain period. LPL officially stated on Weibo,

“The goal of this large-scale investigation by the league is to more thoroughly understand and rectify the situation of match-fixing in the league, to eliminate the influence of match-fixing in the long run.”

LPL authorities have also assured fans that they will deal with such issues by uncompromising standards in the future. Bo took to social media to publicly apologize for his improper actions on the competitive League of Legends scene. As translated by iCrystalization, Bo confessed:

“I am Zhou Yang-Bo. Today, I want to solemnly apologize to everyone here. I'm sorry. I’ve spent this past period regretting and suffering, and knowing how I should face everyone. But one should never, under any circumstances, violate the rules. What’s wrong is wrong. I deeply regret the mistakes I made in the 2020 LDL season.”

“I am Zhou Yang-Bo. Today, I want to solemnly apologize to everyone here. I am sorry.”(cr: https://t.co/amoSXJ7c2k) pic.twitter.com/u54d9L9Eaq

— Linda Pro League 🦦 (@iCrystalization) April 22, 2021

Initially, the jungler was handed a ban of 6 months. But, the suspension was later reduced to 4 months as a reward for cooperating and assisting in the investigation.

As of now, FPX's ex-jungler Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang will be taking Bo's role in the jungle until the end of the 2021 season. Bo will miss the 2021 League of Legends Summer Split, to begin later this year.