Riot Games and the Controversial Emote Change

Riot Games has once again altered an emote designed by a professional League of Legends team, shortly after modifying the emote of 100 Thieves.

The custom emotes created by esports organizations were revealed by the League developer on August 12, and they caught players’ attention with their great designs and controversial elements. The two most intriguing emotes were made by Team BDS and 100 Thieves.

Team BDS utilized a Pengu character holding a fishing rod with a hook that resembled the infamous bait ping, which had been previously removed from the game, as part of its cosmetic. The team even released a promotional video on social media showcasing the bait ping symbol as part of their emote.

A week later, Riot has removed the symbol from the cosmetic’s release on the public test realm. The emote has been modified to display a fish caught on the end of the fishing rod, concealing the hook. This update was announced by the X account SkinSpotlights on their page.

team-bds-bait-emote — Riot Games/Team BDS

The original emote design.

For the second time, Riot has modified an emote from this set. The developer altered 100 Thieves’ Akali emote to feature a less contentious taunt, different from its initial design.

Both players and experts in the esports community have strongly criticized Riot’s choice, citing the developer’s release of the original designs as the root of the issue.

“According to a League fan on X, there is no point in asking teams their preferences as they will change them regardless.”

“According to League caster Alex ‘Nymaera’ Hapgood, if these emotes were not allowed, teams may have chosen significantly different ones. He questioned how they were approved in the first place if they are now being quickly replaced.”

Team BDS addressed the controversy on social media, playfully referencing the change by sharing the original design featuring Pengu making the gesture that led to the alteration of the 100 Thieves emote.

Hey @100T_LoL, how’s it going? ! https://t.co/noUom0K4ic pic.twitter.com/YIkfVC8bqL

— Team BDS (@TeamBDS) August 19, 2024

On August 18, following their victory against Dignitas, the entire League of Legends team of 100 Thieves made the “so small”gesture on stage in response to a last-minute change of their emote after the LCS match. The team shared a video of their celebration on their official Twitter account.

“Riot Games, hear us out. Would it be possible for us to keep Worlds if we were to make it? This is the question posed by the organization on X.”

Riot has not yet provided an explanation for the changes made to either emote. The new cosmetics will be available in the League of Legends shop starting from August 27.