UPDATE 3: After finding an old team profile, their website was listed as "Team8.gg" - after going to the domain, it redirects you to the team's current site, Team-8.net. After running a WHOIS search on the domain, it is registered to none other than Samuel Wang - same registrant as AceSkins.net & AceBoost.com

UPDATE 2: Additionally, after more searching, Statshow.com reveals that Samuel Wang is the registrant for both AceSkins.net & AceBoost.com. 

UPDATE: reddit user /u/relaxitwonthurt found that the Google Analytics code for Team-8.net & AceSkins.net (redirects to AceElo.com) are one in the same. Thank you for the information, user.

Over the past several years, a subject that’s been brought up by Riot Games' ruling is none other than “elo boosting.” For those unfamiliar with the term, it is an activity defined by someone who pays an organization or individual player (of higher rank) to play games on their League of Legends account to boost them to a certain rank. Most commonly, this is an occurrence that happens towards the end of each season, as many people are attempting to receive higher ranked solo-queue rewards. 

Unfortunately, this occurrence happens often. Pro players such as Aphromoo, Meteos, Xmithie, DontMashMe, and more have been temporarily banned in the past for these very activities. Many would argue such a pursuit isn't worth it when already being paid to compete as a professional.

One organization owner doesn’t quite agree -- Sam Wang, co-owner of Team 8 Esports, LLC. Wang joined the organization in August of 2014, shortly before Team 8, a team consisting of Steven “Calitrlolz” Kim, Braeden “Porpoise” Schwark, Andrew “Slooshi” Pham, Ainslie “maplestreet8” Wyllie, and Jun “Dodo8” Kang, qualified for the LCS via knocking out Complexity. Although this combined ownership for the organization is not noted on either Leaguepedia or eSportspedia; however, on Wang’s LinkedIn profile, him joining the organization has been added. 

Yesterday, a source approached EsportsHeaven with the claim that an owner of Team 8 had been involved in elo boosting. After heavy research, EsportsHeaven has confirmed the accuracy of this statement. 

Wang is the original founder of a site once known as AceSkins. During its inception, AceSkins was a reseller of multiple rare skins, with skins up to $1000 in price - notably the PAX collection, Championship Thresh and Riven, and many more. However, in July of 2014, Riot Games announced they would be canceling all outstanding skin codes up until then. Riot SquidmoX goes into more detail addressing the “3rd Party Skin Site Fraud Update”, which can be found here.

This was a pivotal moment for these sites. What seemed to be preying on users who wanted some of the coolest collectibles in all of League of Legends history were now being shut down. Effectively, a giant source of revenue for these sites was slashed; however, Sam Wang’s AceSkins had a different plan -- moving into a different black market in the League of Legends community: Elo boosting.

AceSkins was rebranded to what now is AceElo, a “coaching” and elo boosting scheme offering boosts all the way up to Challenger rank. After investigating, Sam Wang was identified as the owner of the site via a Reddit thread of another skin site owner, of which can be found here. These practices are undoubtedly against Riot’s in-game Summoner’s Code; most users who are caught purchasing or performing an elo boost are permanently banned on those accounts.

On top of the link between Wang & AceElo and his involvement with Team 8, while running a WhoIs, you can find some similarities to the two sites (nameservers, etc): 

When approached, the accompanying Team 8 co-owner, Eric Ma, told a tale of a previously involved party, denying that the current Team 8 had anything to do with this type of activity. Shortly after, the Reddit thread naming Sam Wang as the owner of AceSkins (now AceElo) was found. Unlike Ma, team head coach Matt Schmieder refused to comment on this situation at this time. EsportsHeaven will keep you updated on any changes to the situation. 

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