SCAMANY Cases
EN

RIOT GAMES / LEAGUE & VALORANT

Riot bans nearly 300,000 "rent-a-rank" accounts

On 17 September 2026 Riot Games announced it had penalised 296,416 League of Legends and VALORANT accounts for rank manipulation such as boosting, smurfing and hitchhiking. The wave also hit well-known streamers such as Trainwreckstv and Trick2g, who argue the automated system got their cases wrong.

Ongoing Started Updated

Tyler Niknam (Trainwreckstv), one of the streamers who spoke out after the ban wave.
Tyler Niknam (Trainwreckstv), one of the streamers who spoke out after the ban wave. Photo: Tyler Niknam - aka TrainwrecksTV., CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Accounts penalised
296,416 (League + VALORANT)
Penalties
Rank rollback, lost rewards, temporary or permanent bans
Dispute
Streamers appeal; Riot says enforcement will expand

Timeline

  1. Late 2025 Context

    Enforcement begins

    Per Dexerto, the 296,416 figure covers accounts penalised from late 2025 up to the announcement.

  2. Summer 2026 Decisions

    Vanguard detection reaches VALORANT

    Vanguard's boosting detection was expanded from League of Legends to VALORANT, with bans rolling out continuously since.

  3. Notices

    Riot announces 296,416 accounts

    Riot posted on X: "Boosting, smurfing, hitchhiking… it's all cheating." Targeted behaviour includes buying boosting services, borrowing accounts to face weaker opponents, giving low-ranked accounts to skilled players, and deliberately tanking rank to queue with low-ranked friends.

  4. After 17 Sep 2026 Events

    Trainwreckstv's rank is reverted

    On his Kick stream, Trainwreckstv said his League account's rank was reverted after playing Ranked Flex with pros and streamers including Tyler1, Trick2g and Yassuo. Per Sportskeeda, he also accused a Riot employee of a "clear misuse of power".

  5. After 17 Sep 2026 Events

    Trick2g appeals publicly

    Trick2g posted a video appeal to Riot's Drew Levin, arguing the automated review misread a routine account swap: his group switched accounts when a lower-ranked friend couldn't queue with them, then returned to their mains once ranks lined up.

Where each side stands

Riot Games

  • Boosting, smurfing, hitchhiking and account sharing are all cheating.
  • Penalties scale with severity: rank rollback, loss of season rewards, suspensions from three days (escalating) or permanent removal of bought/abandoned accounts.
  • The system is incomplete and enforcement will expand.
Dexerto →

Trick2g

  • The automated system misread an account swap within a group of friends.
  • Asks Riot for a human review.
NerfPlz →

Trainwreckstv

  • Penalised for playing Flex with pros and other streamers.
  • Accuses a Riot employee of misusing power.
Sportskeeda →

Open questions

  • Does Riot offer a manual review for cases people say were misjudged?
  • Trick2g's explanation (switching to other accounts to play with a friend) is still account sharing — a behaviour Riot lists as a violation. Where is the line between "playing with friends" and "rank manipulation"?
  • How many accounts were penalised per game and per region, including Vietnam?

Scamany compiles public sources and presents each side next to the others; nothing here is a finding by Scamany.

Impact

Everyday players

Common habits such as borrowing a friend's account or using a second account to play with friends can now be penalised.

Boosting services

Boosting markets, including in Vietnam, face much higher risk now that Vanguard detects it in both games.

Streamers

Big streamers became the face of the dispute, raising questions about the transparency of automated enforcement.

People

Trick2g

League streamer

Posted a video appeal arguing the automated system misread an account swap.

Tyler1

League streamer

Named as one of Trainwreckstv's teammates; there is no report that Tyler1 was penalised.

Mentioned only in Trainwreckstv's account.

Sources

  1. Riot banned nearly 300,000 Valorant and League of Legends players for rank manipulation Dexerto · September 17, 2026
  2. Rank manipulation: Riot suspends 296,416 accounts Esports.net · 2026-09
  3. Riot bans 296,416 accounts for boosting, Trick2g asks… NerfPlz · 2026-09
  4. Trainwrecks claims Riot banned him for playing with Tyler1, Trick2g and pros Sportskeeda · 2026-09
  5. Trainwreckstv accuses Riot Games employee of "clear misuse of power" Sportskeeda · 2026-09
← All cases