WE’s midlaner Teacherma in danger of having his pro-status revoked

Recently revealed on his stream, Teacherma has been given a warning by LPL officials that his pro-status will be revoked unless he can reach the minimum rank within an allotted period. The rebuke came after the midlaner found himself stuck in Platinum on China’s elite Ionia server.

Teacherma’s recent solo queue history. (Picture: Reddit user u/Yubisaki_Milk_Tea)

This comes in the wake of changes made by the LPL that require players to reach a minimum rank of Diamond I on the Chinese super-server Ionia to be able to play on a pro roster. The Ionia server is notoriously competitive, and requires a rank of Diamond on another server before you are eligible to join it, and is considered a close second to the infamous Korean server. 

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The initial deadline for all LPL pros to reach Diamond I was 14th June, but Teacherma failed to meet the required rank within the timescale. While Teacherma has a high rank on the Korean server, the new requirements specify the rank must be attained on the aforementioned Ionia server.

(Picture: World Elite)

The trouble comes as WE look to continue a strong opening to the LPL summer split, sitting at a 3-1 match score with a 7-3 game score, including victories against the likes of EDward Gaming and Invictus Gaming. The team is known for its playstyle of having Teacherma index heavily into impacting sidelanes on supporting and enabling picks such as Galio and Aurelion Sol, and not rely on his often underwhelming laning.

WE made a run to the quarterfinals in the Spring Playoffs, seeing off hopefuls eStar before falling to Knight9’s Top Esports, but losing Teacherma could prove fatal to WE’s playoff hopes before they even begin.

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As it stands, no top-flight pro has ever had their status revoked because they failed to reach the minimum rank requirement - time will tell whether WE and Teacherma can resolve the issue, lest he become the first.