Sam Bankman-Fried's Love For 'League of Legends' Is Hurting Riot Games; Sponsorship Deal With FTX In Danger

Riot Games, a unit of Tencent Holdings Limited TCEHY, and developer of 'League of Legends' is working on terminating its League of Legends Championship Series sponsorship deal with FTX FTT/USD cryptocurrency exchange over “reputational harm.”

What Happened: In a filing in FTX's bankruptcy case, Riot Games said affiliation with Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX is hurting the company's image. 

See Also: Sam Bankman-Fried Tells Congress He Nominated New FTX CEO Under Pressure From Lawyers

"There is simply no way for FTX to cure the reputational harm already caused to Riot as a result of the highly public disrepute wrought by the debacle preceding FTX’s bankruptcy filing. FTX cannot turn back the clock and undo the damage inflicted on Riot in the wake of its collapse," stated the filing.

Why It's Important: Bankman-Fried hasn't been shy about his interest in League of Legends. In a tweet in February 2021, he said that he plays the game "a lot more than you'd expect from someone who routinely trades off sleep vs work."

8) On League of Legends:

I play a lot more than you'd expect from someone who routinely trades off sleep vs work.

Why?

Well, there's one answer, which is the obvious one. The single most universal thing about LoL is that everyone who plays it says they wish they didn't.

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 4, 2021

But when Riots announced a seven-year deal with FTX to sponsor its LCS circuit, it wouldn't have thought about such a turn of events, reported The Verge. Now, that FTX's crypto empire has crumbled and Bankman-Fried is facing fraud and money laundering charges, Riot Games is looking to sever all ties with FTX. 

The beleaguered FTX cryptocurrency exchange declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Last week, it was reported that a magistrate judge rejected the disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur's request to be detained at home. 

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