Dire Wolves have been bootcamping in Seoul for the past 2 weeks, aiming to maximise the chances of a break out performance for our region on the international stage. Over the past couple of days we have worked through a player behaviour issue that was flagged by Riot and resulted in the recently published competitive ruling.

As an organisation we’re extremely disappointed in Shern and his actions. As our team captain and an experienced player the expected behavioural standard should be very clear. This incident not only affects the team but OCE as a region. Shern has been apologetic towards both the team and the fans.

“I messed up. As soon as I realised my account had been locked, I had started reflecting on my behaviour in the past and the patterns that have led me to letting down the team, the organisation and the people who support me, the fans. I apologise to everyone involved. These recent actions aren’t reflective of my attitude towards the game and I will do my very best from here despite this poor situation.” – Shern ‘Shernfire’ Tai

The teams and Riot Oceania have been working collaboratively to have a positive impact on player behaviour in the region through setting examples at the professional level. It’s disappointing this incident has occured as we head into Worlds, but we will continue to focus on collaboratively working to improve behaviour on and off the Rift.

Shern is an incredibly driven young individual and in the short term will undoubtedly be doing all he can to assist the team in its first 2 World Championship games while serving his suspension.