League of Legends amateur player Stephen “Triple” Li, who played as a mid laner for TSM in the Challenger League, was dismissed from his team after a series of allegations, including substance abuse and violent behaviour, emerged online.
On December 29, Triple’s ex-girlfriend, known as Long “Makrys”, released a ten-page report detailing his behaviour over Twitter. She alleged that he engaged in drugs, has an obsession with guns and a desire to use his car to go “go at 200 m/ph in an intersection and slaughter six people.
She said that Triple’s smoking and drug misuse habits grew worse over their time together, leading to erratic and violent behaviour.
Following the claims, Triple issued his own statement on December 31 in which he addressed several of the allegations. He acknowledged that he has had a history of alcohol and drug abuse as a result of poor mental health issues, especially during his time in the Academy and throughout his time at Korean boot camps.
“As the season situation began to worsen, I started reverting back to my habits of taking harder substances on occasion– which I understand is a very temporary and unhealthy way to deal with stress– but at the time, to me, it took the least amount of time to put me in the best position to be ready for the next day,” he wrote.
But critics noted that he did not address allegations such as his violent tendencies, which led many to believe that Makry’s version was probably the more accurate of the two.
TSM has since announced that they are letting Triple go, which is effective immediately.
Triple, who hails from Australia, began his pro career in League of Legends with Avant Gaming, which is currently known as Dire Wolves. Despite playing in a region that is not well-known in the LoL competitive scene, Triple was able to bring the Dire Wolves to a number of important tournaments and win the Oceania Pro League in 2018.
Triple then played in several teams, including Mammoth and Flyquest. While playing for these teams, his talent drew the attention of various western scouts. TSM eventually decided to enlist the young midlaner to try and compete in the NA scene with the TSM LoL Academy team.
Triple has not responded to the latest statement by TSM.
