League of Legends is a game where anything can happen. You can get a Quadra kill on your support Sona, or feed on your main champion you practice every day. There’s a sense of uncertainty that makes this game a new experience every time you accept a match. It’s even possible to run into a League celebrity. Pros and streamers play on the same servers as you and not all of them are Master-tier gods.
In the Summer of 2015, I spent all of my energy trying to climb out of Gold. I’d play five games a day, my only driving force being that shiny border at the end of the season. One day in July I see “meatwadsprite” is second pick in champion select with me. For those unaware, that’s the handle that VideogameDunkey goes by in League. For years, he was the prominent League Youtuber, with millions of views on every video. He quit League that winter , after his account got banned for toxicity.
I was freaking out; I had never played with such a high-profile player before. I messaged my friends from college, asking them if it seemed legit. ”Anyone can have a handle like that” they say, insinuating that this guy had to be a fake fanboy. I almost believed them myself, until I check “meatwadsprite’s” match history. His two most played champions are Tryndamere and Wukong, he was Gold last season, and he plays a lot with someone named “Leahxbee” (who is Dunkey’s real life girlfriend.)
The facts added up: this guy was the legit VideogameDunkey. One of my friends (who’s Diamond) said that I am the luckiest man alive, and he would gladly play on my account to get me a free win. I turn the offer down, getting ready to play one of the strangest games of League of Legends of my life.
I pick Nunu and Dunkey picks Tryndamere in the top lane. Everything goes normal for the first few minutes. I get a dragon at level five and Dunkey gets first blood. Then our mid lane Lulu dies twice in a row and things go sour. Dunkey starts to flame, calling Lulu trash and “boosted.” Lulu saw this as an opportunity to get on one of Dunkey’s newest videos and went on full-tilt mode.
Lulu starts walking mid lane, throwing herself into the enemy tower over and over, demanding an apology from Dunkey. Dunkey throws slurs and hate speech right back, escalating the situation further. I’m just trying to farm, saying in chat that Lulu should just be ignored, all she wants is attention. Things continue to escalate and we are losing pretty badly. As our mid inhibitor starts to fall, the enemy Varus says: “Look I’m Legolas!” Dunkey, without missing a beat says: “Our Lulu is Aragorn, cause she keeps dying.” I fell out of my chair from laughter, and accepted this game as a loss and a story.
I completely understand why Dunkey quit League. His fans tend to be immature and think the best way to interact with their idol is to copy what he does. This makes games heavy with trolls, flamers and AFKs, which are definitely not fun to play with. I’ll never forget this game or VideogameDunkey, my gold border won’t let me.
