Last week well-known UK League of Legends streamer Ali “Gross Gore” Larsen was banned from attending Riot events for one year.
It’s the latest development between the pair’s fractured relationship, following the Worlds at Wembley hotel incident last year and the more recent Twitch ban this year.
Surely it’s time now for them to put their differences behind them and at least try to work a little more amicably together in the future.
Riot needs streamers like Grossie to help promote League of Legends, and with Riot’s backing, streamers like him can gain access to more official events and ultimately produce greater, different content.
While Ali was wrong to have made inaccurate accusations against League of Legends caster Mitch “Krepo” Voorspoels, we’re not pointing the finger solely at Ali here – other streamers have been involved in slanderous and other dodgy situations on stream.
SMITE streamer DM Brandon left Hi-Rez Studios earlier this year after making some distasteful comments about suicide on stream, and LegendaryLea was banned for a month after ‘accidentally’ flashing on stream.
The point is – there are loads of streamers out there probably unaware of the laws they have to adhere to. Ultimately, they are publishers – and have to abide by many of the rules that bigger TV broadcasters and national publications have to.
They have a responsibility to learn their craft and understand what they can and can’t say on stream – they are inspiring the next generation of gamers and future eSports pros.
Check out our full video log and opinion on the topic below, from eSports News UK’s editor Dom Sacco, and do subscribe to the eSports News UK YouTube channel to get more videos, vlogs and player interviews in the future:
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
