Comrade José
Leviathan's player ABL has been unbanned from Deadlock Night Shift EU and will be able to participate in the following week. The decision was communicated on the DLNS Discord server; Jake stated that they believe the nine-month ban was enough for ABL and would serve as a warning to all players interested in competing in Night Shift events. He also commented that Night Shift remains committed to a zero-tolerance policy regarding the use of hateful or discriminatory language.
The staff decided that a lifetime ban wasn’t the right path, as they wanted to give the player a second chance. They spoke with ABL and other competitive players before this decision. They are optimistic that ABL has taken the opportunity to change his behavior.
Remember the case
ABL was caught using a racial slur in pubs last year. Even with the repercussions, DLNS refused to ban him, allowing him to continue playing. ABL won Deadlock Night Shift EU #14, #15, and #16 with Abrahams, being part of the record-holding team with 14 consecutive wins in DLNS EU.
After fans started to pressure the staff for a punishment, Jake issued a statement that resulted in the nine-month ban and an apology to the community. The ban came four months after the incident.