Nearly 300,000 Accounts Banned: Riot's Crackdown Hits Major Streamers
Trainwreckstv, Trick2g and other streamers were caught in Riot Games’ massive rank-manipulation crackdown. Here’s why their League bans became controversial, what Trick2g said, and how Riot responded to the dispute.
Riot Games has penalized 296,416 League of Legends and VALORANT accounts over rank manipulation, with streamers including Trainwreckstv and Trick2g caught up in the crackdown after playing ranked games across different accounts. The controversy centers on Riot's definition of boosting, smurfing and “hitchhiking.” Riot says all three count as cheating, while Trick2g argued that no boosting was happening during the games that led to his ban. Trainwreckstv also questioned why simply queuing with long-time friends and pro League players resulted in his account being banned and his rank being reverted.
PSA: Boosting, smurfing, hitchhiking… it's all cheating.
— Riot Games (@riotgames) September 17, 2026
Vanguard's boosting detection expanded from @LeagueOfLegends to @VALORANT earlier this summer and bans have been rolling out ever since. 296,416 rent-a-rank customers served and counting. pic.twitter.com/QlLqsi6b9q
Riot Games Says Its Rank-Manipulation System Flagged Nearly 300,000 Accounts
The huge enforcement number came from Riot Games on September 17, when the company said Vanguard's boosting detection had now caught 296,416 “rent-a-rank” customers across League of Legends and VALORANT.
Riot's message was pretty direct: “Boosting, smurfing, hitchhiking… it's all cheating.” The company said the detection system had expanded from League to VALORANT earlier in the summer, with bans continuing to roll out.
That announcement suddenly gave more context to several streamer bans. Trainwreckstv said his League account had been banned after playing Ranked Flex alongside Tyler1, Trick2g, Yassuo and others. He also said his rank had been reverted, meaning he would have to climb again.
His confusion was pretty simple. Trainwreckstv argued that these were people he had known for years and that he was not deliberately looking for players to boost him. “It's not my fault that they're all pro League players,” he said during his Kick livestream.
Brother Drew we need help @drewlevin pic.twitter.com/Cg30So0AHj
— Timothy F. (@Trick2g) September 18, 2026
Trick2g Says His Group Was Not Trying to Boost Anyone
Trick2g's case became more complicated after he directly appealed his ban on September 17. According to the streamer, the issue started because someone who had never played Flex was placed too low to queue with the rest of the group.
Trick2g said he, Cookie and Moe sometimes switched accounts so the group could keep playing together, returning to their main accounts once the player reached around Emerald or when they had a suitable five-man team.
“No boosting was happening,” Trick2g insisted.
Drew Levin, League of Legends' Head of Business and Director of Product Management, initially pushed back hard. He told Trick2g that having Master+ players use alternate accounts to move a friend from Gold toward Emerald was “basically the definition of boosting.”
That response created another layer to the controversy because Trick2g's explanation was specifically about trying to play Flex with friends rather than intentionally selling or purchasing a rank.
Drew Levin Later Apologized While Riot Kept Its Boosting Stance
Levin addressed the situation again on September 18, apologizing to Trick2g for what he called his “off-the-cuff and incurious reply.”
He said Riot was already “in touch directly” with Trick2g and the other affected streamers. But the company was not walking back its general position on smurfing and boosting.
Instead, Levin admitted Riot had not been clear enough about when players could safely play ranked games with friends. He said he would work with the team to provide clearer guidance through official channels. As of this writing, Trick2g had not responded to Levin's apology.