Estral Esports’ veteran top laner, Park “Summit” Woo-tae, has been disqualified after being provisionally suspended during the upper bracket finals of the LTA North Promotion Tournament against team Disguised after allegedly cheating during a tech pause.
The incident occurred when Summit was reportedly seen opening YouTube on the side of a teammate’s player cam during the match’s tech pause. The moment quickly spread across social media, with clips showing Summit browsing what appeared to be gameplay footage during the extended pause.
League match officials responded shortly after, confirming their “provisional suspension” through an official statement on Oct. 6 pending a full investigation into a possible breach of competitive integrity rules. The developer also referred to the Esports Global Code of Conduct 2025 and reiterated the definition of cheating while remaining committed to upholding competitive integrity.
Two days later, Riot decided to disqualify Summit effective immediately after completing its investigation, explaining that the 26-year-old pro breached Article 4.3 of the Esports Global Code of Conduct.
Estral Esports has yet to release a statement about Summit’s disqualification, but the team previously addressed his provisional suspension, expressing both understanding and frustration over the situation. The organization explained that their match faced severe technical difficulties, including DDoS attacks on Riot’s servers, resulting in a pause lasting over two hours without clear communication or resolution from officials.
They acknowledged that Summit made a mistake by watching a stream during the pause, but emphasized that there was no intent to gain an “unfair advantage”, describing the act as an unfortunate lapse caused by an unsustainable situation.
Estral argued that the punishment was “disproportionate and overly harsh”, citing the strain of having players and staff waiting in front of computers for more than five hours without progress. The team has filed a formal appeal with the league and reaffirmed its commitment to fair treatment for players and higher standards. In addition to Summit, the former world champion Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun was also seen checking Discord during the tech pause, but the developer has not commented on the issue.
Estral Esports is allowed to field a substitute player for the top lane from their existing roster in the interim while they face SDM Tigres in the lower bracket on Oct 9. The winner of the LTA North Promotion Tournament secures a direct spot in the LTA North 2026.
