A Twitch streamer wanted to show off in LoL, but was then banned from all accounts by a Riot employee

Twitch Streamer Pentaless1 Banned After Showing Off in League of Legends

Smurfing has long been a problem in competitive games with ranked systems, and League of Legends (LoL) is no exception. Riot Games has recently been taking strong measures to combat smurfing and account buying. One high-profile example involved Twitch streamer Pentaless1, who ended up facing consequences after publicly showing off his achievements.

Who is Pentaless1?

Pentaless1 is a Twitch streamer known primarily for playing League of Legends. In his X (formerly Twitter) biography, he highlights his achievement of reaching the top rank on the leaderboards during Season 15 of LoL. There’s no doubt that he is a skilled player with a deep understanding of the game.

How Did Pentaless1 Try to Show Off?

On August 17, 2025, Pentaless1 posted a screenshot on his X account with the headline: “40-0 to plat”. He claimed that he had climbed to Platinum rank with an undefeated record of 40 wins and 0 losses. Given his Challenger-level skill, this achievement was less about difficulty and more about making a statement. He also claimed that the account he used was “levelled by hand”, implying he did not purchase or boost the account.

Riot Employee Responds to His Post

Just days earlier, Riot Games had released a developer update addressing smurfing and account buying. One of the developers featured in that update was Drew Levin, who later responded directly to Pentaless1’s post.

Levin wrote:

“I don’t understand how people can see our developer update about smurfing and then think it’s a good idea to buy accounts and show off that they are going 40-0 as 1k+ LP Challenger players in under-Platinum lobbies. Do you really think we wouldn’t enforce our rules and the terms of service?”

In response, Pentaless1 insisted that he had not broken any rules. He stated that the account was not purchased, that he had levelled it himself, and that he had played solo without boosting anyone. Levin, however, requested further details to verify the claim.

The Ban Announcement

Two days later, on August 19, 2025, Pentaless1 posted on X that he had been “wrongfully banned”. He explained that Riot had issued a 30-day global suspension across all of his LoL accounts, citing account buying. He maintained his innocence and repeated that the 40-0 account had not been purchased.

What Did Riot Find?

While verifying Pentaless1’s account, Levin reportedly discovered that Pentaless1 had other linked accounts. One of them had indeed been purchased, and Pentaless1 had played more than 20 games on it. Levin commented under Pentaless1’s post:

“Would you like to link your purchased account on which you played more than 20 games?”

This revelation undermined Pentaless1’s defense and confirmed that the global ban was tied not just to his showcase account but also to other violations.

Wider Implications

Another X user suggested Levin investigate the accounts at the top of the flex leaderboard, suspecting similar behavior. Levin confirmed that Riot was already reviewing accounts in North America and encouraged the community to help report suspicious cases on other servers.

Conclusion

The case of Pentaless1 highlights Riot’s firm stance against smurfing and account buying in League of Legends. Even high-level players and streamers are not immune to enforcement actions if they violate the rules. Riot has made it clear that protecting the integrity of ranked matchmaking is a top priority—and flaunting suspicious achievements only invites scrutiny.