Riftbound bans Koko Lopez until January 1, 2029 for stacking runes
Riot Games ruled that Koko Lopez intentionally stacked his rune deck at Regional Qualifier Los Angeles on September 26, 2026, and the decision is final.
Koko Lopez is barred from every sanctioned Riftbound tournament and event, at any Organized Play Level, through January 1st, 2029, according to a ruling from Riot Games. The decision stems from what happened at Riftbound Regional Qualifier Los Angeles on September 26, 2026.
After its review, Riot Games concluded that Lopez deliberately arranged the order of his rune deck to gain an edge over opponents, and it classed this as cheating under the Riftbound Tournament Rules.
What judges saw
During Round 2, a floor judge watched Lopez pile shuffle his rune deck and then skip any randomizing method afterward; his runes also appeared to come out in the same order every game. After the round, judges saw him arrange the rune deck in a specific order before putting it back in its deck box.
By Round 3, judges were keeping an eye on him and noticed he did not shuffle the rune deck at all, nor hand it to his opponent for a cut. They stepped in to examine the deck and verified that it matched the sequence they had seen earlier.
Riot Games established that he had placed his nine Chaos runes and three Order runes in a repeating three-to-one pattern.
How the case was handled
Event officials disqualified Lopez for cheating. The case was then escalated: Riot Games started formal disciplinary proceedings and gave him the chance to submit a written response.
In Riot Games' view, setting up the deck ahead of his matches and then neither shuffling it nor offering a cut demonstrated both planning and an intent to cheat.
Riot Games counted his later admission to the company and his public apology as mitigating factors. Even so, it decided that a lighter penalty would not match how serious the conduct was.
The rules cited
Under Rule 703.7.b of the Riftbound Tournament Rules, pile shuffling does not adequately randomize a deck and is meant to be used only as a way of counting.
Rule 704.8 states that Riftbound has zero tolerance for cheating at every level of play, while Rule 704.8.b classes lying to a tournament official as cheating.
Reported details
TheGamer describes the ban as a 26-month, just-over-two-year ban. Its report adds that Lopez stacked his rune deck so that by turn three he had access to five purple runes and one yellow rune, and that he stands accused of lying to judges by claiming he did not know stacking was against the rules.
Finality of the ruling
Riot Games cautions Lopez that any further breach of the Riftbound Tournament Rules could bring additional penalties. The case is closed and the decision is final with no appeal available, although Riot Games keeps the right to look at it again should new, substantive evidence come to light.
What it means for players
- Pile shuffling alone does not count as randomizing a rune deck; it is meant only for counting.
- Lying to a tournament official is itself treated as cheating.
- The sanction applies to all sanctioned events at every Organized Play Level.
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