TLN Pirates' Thomas Provisionally Suspended by Riot: LFL Integrity Probe Timeline (Oct 2026)

TL;DR: On 22 October 2026, Riot Games provisionally suspended Tomislav "Thomas" Nanjara, the Croatian support of French LFL team TLN Pirates, over alleged breaches of the Riot Games Esports Global Code of Conduct. TLN Pirates says it found information that "may call into question the competitive integrity" of some of its LFL matches and contacted Riot itself. Riot calls the suspension a precautionary measure that "does not represent a finding of wrongdoing." No matches, no specific rule and no evidence have been made public, and Thomas has not commented publicly.

Last updated: 24 October 2026, 19:30 KST.

Caution: This is an open investigation. Nothing has been proven, and nothing here suggests that Thomas or anyone else is guilty.

The timeline at a glance

All times below are as published on X. They are given in UTC, with Korea time (KST) in brackets. France was on CEST (UTC+2) at the time.

Date	Event	Source
9 Dec 2025	Sheep Esports reports TLN Group will enter LFL Division 2 as TLN Pirates, with Charly "Djoko" as head coach. Spooder, Axelent and support Thomas are named as the first players locked in	Sheep Esports
Jan 2026	Thomas joins TLN Pirates. Liquipedia lists the team as founded on 21 Jan 2026	E-Sport Now, Liquipedia
Mar 2026	TLN Pirates enters the LFL (Division 1) after one team withdrew and BK ROG was excluded	Sheep Esports
Spring 2026	2nd in the regular season, 4th in the playoffs	Sheep Esports
Summer 2026	2nd again and qualifies for EMEA Masters Summer	Sheep Esports
9 Oct 2026	EMEA Masters quarterfinal: TLN loses 3-1 to MKOI	Sheep Esports
22 Oct, 16:35 UTC (01:35 KST, 23 Oct)	TLN Pirates posts a French statement on X with the caption "🤮". It says the club told Riot about integrity concerns and that "precautionary measures" were taken in the roster	@TLN_PIRATES
22 Oct (notice dated that day)	Riot Competitive Operations publishes "Provisional Suspension of Player Tomislav Nanjara ('Thomas')", effective 22 Oct 2026	Riot Games
22 Oct, 17:11 UTC (02:11 KST, 23 Oct)	DPM Esports relays the Riot suspension as [OFFICIAL]	X
22 Oct, 18:18 UTC (03:18 KST, 23 Oct)	Sheep Esports posts the news on X	@Sheep_Esports
23 Oct	Sheep Esports, E.SPORT.FR, E-Sport Now, Team aAa and The Esports Radar publish full reports	Media

Timeline of TLN Pirates' first year and the 22 October provisional suspension. A provisional suspension is not a finding of wrongdoing.

Who are Thomas and TLN Pirates?

TLN Pirates is a young organisation from Toulon, in the south of France. In December 2025, Sheep Esports reported that TLN Group, a Toulon company founded in 2023, would launch a League of Legends team in LFL Division 2. The plan was tied to a roughly €4 million project that includes a gaming bar and player facilities in central Toulon. The report named former Cameroon footballer Gaëtan Bong and former French handball international Mariama Signaté as partners. Charly "Djoko", who won the 2019 Spring, Summer and season titles with LDLC OL, was hired as head coach.

Tomislav "Thomas" Nanjara is a Croatian support. He was one of the first three players TLN locked in, along with top laner Spooder and AD carry Axelent. Sheep reported that the trio was paid above the LFL2 average. Liquipedia lists him under the handle "ThomasFate".

The team did better than anyone expected. It moved up to the top LFL division in March 2026 after a withdrawal and BK ROG's exclusion opened spots. It finished 2nd in the Spring regular season and 4th in the Spring playoffs. In the Summer Split it finished 2nd again and reached EMEA Masters Summer, where MKOI knocked it out 3-1 in the quarterfinals on 9 October. In under a year, the team went from a new Division 2 project to one of France's best.

The announcement: what Riot actually said

Riot's notice on its Competitive Operations site is short. It says Riot "has been made aware of potential breaches" of the Esports Global Code of Conduct by an ERL EMEA player from TLN Pirates in La Ligue Française. It then makes these points:

• "Following a preliminary review, Riot has issued a provisional suspension, effective October 22, 2026."
• Provisional suspensions "are precautionary measures to safeguard the integrity of competition while an investigation and any necessary disciplinary proceedings are ongoing."
• "They do not represent a finding of wrongdoing and may be lifted at any time should the evidence not support further action."
• The player "has been informed of the allegations" and "will have the opportunity to present their statement before a final decision is made."
• The suspension stays in place "until the conclusion of the investigation or further notice," and "no further details will be shared at this time."

The notice does not cite a specific article of the Code. It does not use the words "match-fixing" or "betting", and it does not name any match. Some outlets and social media posts have used those terms anyway. As Sheep Esports pointed out, neither statement says which matches are under review, or even whether they were played in the LFL or at EMEA Masters.

TLN Pirates' statement

The club's statement came as an image on X, in French. Here is our translation of the key parts:

"Following the discovery of information likely to call into question the competitive integrity of certain matches played by our team in the LFL, we immediately contacted Riot Games to pass on the elements in our possession. Riot Games has opened an investigation, in which TLN Pirates is cooperating fully with the teams in charge."

"Pending the conclusions of this investigation, we inform you that precautionary measures have been taken within our roster."

The club said it would share no more details, "to preserve the confidentiality of the investigation, ensure it runs properly and respect the rights of all persons concerned." It called competitive integrity "an absolute priority" and promised updates "as soon as circumstances allow."

Three details stand out:

1. The club says it raised the alarm itself. By its own account, TLN brought the information to Riot. Riot's notice only says it "has been made aware" and does not name a source.
2. The statement does not name Thomas. The name comes from Riot's notice. TLN does not say what its "precautionary measures" are or who they affect.
3. The caption was a single "🤮" emoji. We won't read more into it than that.

Reports disagree on which statement came first. Team aAa says Riot's sanction followed the club's statement "a few hours later." E-Sport Now says the opposite. On X, TLN's post went up at 16:35 UTC on 22 October, and outlets were relaying Riot's notice by 17:11 UTC. Riot's page carries a date but no time.

What a "provisional suspension" means under Riot's rules

Riot's Esports Global Code of Conduct has a specific article for interim measures, Article 5.6. Riot made it more explicit in the 2025 edition. It says Riot "may issue interim or provisional disciplinary measures pending the outcome of an investigation." Where "credible evidence may suggest a breach," Riot may suspend the people involved, so it can "prevent further harm" while it assesses the case. The article ends: "Riot may ultimately decide to lift provisional measures, or impose the disciplinary sanctions deemed appropriate."

In practice:

• It is not a verdict. It is a holding measure taken after a preliminary review.
• Only two outcomes are possible. Riot either lifts the measure or issues a final ruling with sanctions. Under Article 5.4, sanctions can range from a warning or fine up to suspensions and bans.
• The player gets a hearing. Riot's anti-match-fixing page says accused individuals "are given the opportunity to provide a statement" before a final ruling. It also says investigations "can last several months."
• Riot normally publishes the result. Final competitive rulings are usually posted on Riot's Competitive Operations rulings page.

The timing has little effect on competition. The LFL 2026 season is over, and TLN's EMEA Masters run ended on 9 October. In practice, the suspension mainly affects the off-season and the 2027 roster market.

Precedent: how a past Riot case played out

Riot's best-documented recent case shows that both outcomes really happen. On 5 February 2025, Riot provisionally suspended six players from Frank Esports Academy (FAK Academy) over possible breaches of Article 4.14 (match-fixing or manipulation) in matches at the 2024 Asia Star Challengers Invitational. The notice used almost the same wording as the Thomas notice. It said provisional suspensions are "a standard procedure and [do] not imply any presumption of culpability."

The case ended on 22 May 2025, about three and a half months later. Riot permanently suspended five of those players and the head coach. Its ruling also shows that one player, Coining, was dropped from the investigation after a further review. Riot noted that he "did not exhibit suspicious in-game performance" and had been suspended only because he played in a match under review.

That case does not tell us anything about TLN Pirates or Thomas. It shows how Riot's process works: a quick provisional measure, an investigation that can include outside integrity specialists, and a final ruling that can either sanction or clear each person.

For a non-Riot comparison from this month, see our timeline of ESIC's NOMERCY CS2 match-manipulation sanctions. It shows how a different integrity body moves from allegation to ruling.

Context: a turbulent LFL

The news comes during a difficult period for French League of Legends. E-Sport Now pointed to Team Vitality's departure from the league and the move away from Webedia as its operator. For TLN Pirates, the timing is especially bad. Team aAa noted that the club was preparing its mercato for 2027 after a strong year. With no details on what the "precautionary measures" involve, TLN's 2027 plans are now unclear.

It also lands during Worlds 2026 week, when European League of Legends was already in the news over Riot's late patch switch at EMEA Masters.

What happens next

• Thomas's statement. Riot says he will be heard before any decision. He has not spoken publicly so far.
• Riot's ruling. Riot will either lift the provisional suspension or publish a ruling on its Competitive Operations site. There is no deadline. The FAK Academy case took about 15 weeks.
• TLN Pirates' next update. The club has promised to say more "as soon as circumstances allow," including, presumably, what its roster measures are.
• Scope. The two key unknowns are which matches are under review and whether anyone besides Thomas is involved. Riot's notice names only him.

We will update this timeline when Riot, TLN Pirates or Thomas say more.

Sources

• Riot Games Competitive Operations: "Provisional Suspension of Player Tomislav Nanjara ('Thomas') for Alleged Code of Conduct Violations" (22 Oct 2026)
• TLN Pirates statement on X, @TLN_PIRATES (22 Oct 2026)
• Sheep Esports: "Riot provisionally suspends TLN Pirates player Thomas amid investigation into competitive integrity" (23 Oct 2026), and "LoL: TLN Pirates join LFL Division 2" (9 Dec 2025)
• E.SPORT.FR: "Des matchs suspects en LFL ? Riot Games suspend un joueur de TLN Pirates" (23 Oct 2026)
• Team aAa, E-Sport Now and The Esports Radar reports (22–23 Oct 2026)
• Riot Games Esports Global Code of Conduct (2025 edition), Articles 5.4 and 5.6, and Riot's anti-match-fixing page
• Riot ruling: Yu Kit "BoxeR2" Cheng, Chun Hei "danny1018" Fong, et al. (FAK Academy, 22 May 2025)

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