C9 EMENES apologizes for xenophobic remarks made in LoL solo queue before Worlds

Cloud9 mid laner Jang “EMENES” Min-soo has issued an apology for comments made toward a European pro player during a solo queue match last week after heavy backlash from the League of Legends community.

EMENES said he “deeply apologizes” to fans for his remarks, which were targeted at European streamer Spear_shot during a Sept. 14 solo queue match, in a post to his Twitter account just over four days later. He claimed he spoke to Spear_shot in private late last week, adding an additional personal apology to him today.

“My actions were inexcusable, and I recognize the impact my words have in-game,” EMENES wrote, adding that as a representative for his League team, he showed an “irresponsible image that was unprofessional.”

The 22-year-old found himself in hot water following his behavior in a Korean League solo queue match, where he accused his top lane teammate Spear_shot of griefing and called him a “disgusting EU streamer.”

EMENES apologized at the moment to fans but not to Spear_shot, instead opting to double down on his comments made during the matchmade game. He suggested the European streamer was breaking the rules for viewer interest by picking a particular champion and choosing to “ruin the game when things don’t go their way.”

Spear_shot bit back at the time, revealing what EMENES had originally said in chat and responding to claims he was throwing the game, deconstructing what happened, and defending his game and actions.

C9 has not followed up outside of its original statement that it was handling the incident internally, with today’s statement from EMENES the result of their internal investigation. It remains to be seen whether Riot Games intends any further action against the mid laner.

EMENES and C9 are preparing for this year’s edition of Worlds—a home tournament for EMENES in Seoul—which will begin in early October.

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