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Chinese Popular Esports Streamer Sentenced for Gambling and Match Fixing

By CaesarZX
Oct. 21, 2021 updated 02:16

Ex-Pro gamer ShinnyRuo was one of the top streamers in China and made his fame either intentionally or accidentally, by creating popular memes, including the viral term ‘YYDS’ during one of his famous streams, by cheering for team RNG and calling Uzi "Yong Yuan De Shen!" (the eternal God) during the 2019 League of Legends S9 finals.

The phrase went so viral that it turned into a motto in the Chinese esports community. The acronym ‘YYDS’ quickly developed into one of the most popular catchphrases among the younger generation in China for its quirkiness and catchiness.

However, ShinnyRuo was also famous for participating in and organizing online esports gambling and for giving away his gambling winnings to his fans. Many have speculated that he has also been involved in multiple match-fixing cases, and is probably responsible for many unexpected match results in the League of Legends Development League, the secondary LoL Pro League in China.

As speculations rose, ShinnyRuo’s fame became a giant target painted on his head.

ShinyRuo's last live streaming event was on October 15, 2020. He has not been seen on his channel since that FIFA 21 stream. Months later, his fans found out that ShinnyRuo had been arrested the following day by police, on charges of organizing gambling and match-fixing.

Following that and earlier this year, the court sentenced ShinnyRuo to three years in prison with three years' probation. ShinnyRuo had appealed this conviction. However, yesterday the court upheld their original verdict, dismissing the appeal. The conviction is now final and no more appeals will be allowed, so that's the last word on the matter of ShinnyRuo's arrest -- he was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 50,000 RMB. Considering all this, it will be very unlikely that ShinnyRuo can return to his streaming career after serving out his sentence, but his memes will live on, along with the love of some of his fans, even if many have come to hate him.