Riot just laid down the law for anyone who thinks they can get away with cheating in Riftbound. Pro player Koko Lopez has just been handed a huge two-year ban from competitions after he was caught stacking his rune deck in the Los Angeles Riftbound Regional Qualifier late last month.
The ban is extremely severe compared to what we typically see in other competitive games like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh!, where players often get away with their actions a few times before eventually being called out and given minor suspensions. Riot is taking cheating seriously, and this massive ban should deter anyone who even considers bending or breaking the rules in competitive play.
Riot Throws The Book At Pro Player With 26-Month Ban
It can’t be overstated just how unprecedented this move is from Riot. Cheating has been a scourge on competitive play in TCGs for decades, and there’s no shortage of YouTube videos covering some of the worst incidents and offenders of all time. The big difference between how many of those historical cases were handled and how this particular instance is being dealt with is the strict line of integrity that Riot is choosing to take.
By handing Koko Lopez what is just over a two-year ban from all organized play events at any level, Riot is unequivocally saying that cheating is not welcome in Riftbound, no matter how small or big the offense.
Koko Lopez is accused of, and has admitted to, stacking his rune deck in a way that heavily favors the archetype he was running. In this case, he ensured that by turn three he had access to five purple runes and one yellow one. The specificity of the rune combinations is what makes the deck a risk in high-level play, because without the right combination of runes, you’re on the back foot.
Lopez is accused of lying to judges about the incident and claiming he didn’t know stacking his rune deck was against the rules. He has since taken accountability for the cheating and owned up to it, but that wasn’t enough to save him from the ban, which is where Riot is making its biggest statement. Just because you admit it (after lying about it), the punishment won’t suddenly be mitigated or disappear.
Koko Lopez is now banned until January 1, 2029.
This Is A Milestone Judgment For Riftbound & TCGs In General
This judgment matters for Riftbound because it shows how seriously Riot is taking cheating, and it will also put pressure on other organizations to clean up their act and crack down on players who break the rules.
The ripple effect of this ban will likely be felt even in casual play, where players are more likely to try their luck with players who are new to the game or just generally less involved with the finer details of the rules. I’ve been to countless Magic: The Gathering prerelease events, and the ways players casually forget staple rules to gain even the slightest advantage are unreal; this problem starts at the top of the game, where cheating has historically been dealt with very poorly. These may not be “competitive” events, but if the cheating is bad at this level, it only gets worse the higher you go.
As more players start looking at Riftbound as a genuine alternative to Magic in the competitive scene, this could seal the deal for those still on the fence. A hard stance on cheating creates a much more welcoming environment for those who just want fair, clean matches.
- Original Release Date
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2025
- Designer(s)
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Dave Guskin (Game Director)
