Former TSM coach Peter Zhang gets perma banned by Riot

“Every day at TSM is a banger.” If you don’t remember that infamous tweet from TSM jungler Mingyi “Spica” Lu, you’re about to find out the reason behind it.

TSM fired Peterz Zhang in March

During the LCS Spring Split of 2022, all hell was breaking loose in TSM’s League of Legends department over the performance of the team. Roster changes, leaks, and the entire Reginald controversy took the spotlight with one move notably brushed aside. Head coach Zhang “Peter Zhang” Yi was let go due to a “conflict of interests and unethical practices”. Both TSM and Riot did separate investigations into the matter, but all fans got until now were cryptic tweets. 

Peter Zhang permanently banned from anything Riot-related

On August 8, Riot Games released its competitive ruling on coach Zhang, saying that he is prohibited from being affiliated with any team or organization in Riot-organized competitions. This decision comes as a result of the internal investigations the developer conducted with current and former TSM players and staff.

Peter Zhang reportedly violated multiple rules and agreements by sending player salaries to accounts owned by himself. He is also said to have sold the car of former TSM player “SwordArT” Shuo-Chieh but never gave him the money. Moreover, Riot’s investigation also found that Zhang was taking loans from TSM players and staff.

After Zhang was fired in March, he reportedly returned to China and still hasn’t paid out the $45,000 he owes SwordArT for selling his car. In a Twitter post at the time, he said that the reasoning for this was that he needed to pay out medical expenses for his grandmother’s surgery and that more than 60% of the money had already been paid back. However, Riot stated that up to date, $45,000 of the total $80,000 remains unpaid.

Ultimately, Riot’s competitive ruling concluded that due to unethical behavior and multiple rule violations, Peter Zhang must be removed from any Riot-affiliated competitions.

How this all transpired

Peter Zhang joined TSM in November 2018 as its Academy Head Coach, before becoming Head of Player Development in December 2021. After obtaining the position, Peter spearheaded the organization toward acquiring Chinese players that he picked to be a part of the TSM LCS roster. In the months after he took control and until he got fired in March 2022, he reportedly diverted approximately $250,000 from the salaries of players Zhu “Keaiduo” Xiong and Wei “Shenyi” Zi-Jie. And he followed that up by selling non-public inside information regarding TSM’s recruitment decisions. 

Header: Riot Games