Understanding Riot’s controversial ban on Smite top strategy and how to navigate unconventional League of Legends gameplay
The Smite Top Strategy Explained
An innovative gameplay approach has emerged in League of Legends Season 12 where top laners equip Smite instead of traditional summoner spells like Teleport or Ignite. This unconventional tactic involves selecting champions typically reserved for support roles and adopting a unique playstyle focused on map-wide impact rather than conventional laning dominance.
The enchanter Smite top approach has revolutionized League of Legends Season 12’s competitive landscape, creating division within Riot Games about whether this meta innovation constitutes legitimate strategy or intentional game disruption. A high-ranking Diamond player from the European West server faced a two-week suspension for employing this method with various champions, with their appeal being officially denied by support staff.
Initially considered highly unconventional within League’s established meta, the Smite top methodology has gained substantial traction across global solo queue environments. Champions including Janna, Zilean, Karma—and surprisingly even Yuumi—have been dominating top lane by incorporating Smite, initiating early game roams, and creating snowball advantages across multiple lanes.
Riot Games implemented significant changes in patch 12.4 specifically designed to weaken this strategy by adjusting support item functionality and modifying Objective Bounty mechanics. Despite these balancing efforts, one dedicated player maintains they received punitive action for utilizing this technical approach, with Riot support refusing to reverse their suspension based on claims of disruptive behavior.
The Banning Incident
The player known as ‘saidenhide’, operating under the summoner name ‘Yuumi Top OhTeeP’ in the EUW region, consistently maintained high Diamond ranking throughout Season 12 by implementing this strategy across multiple champion selections including Yuumi, Nami, Zilean, and Maokai. Their performance metrics show an impressive 56% victory rate in Diamond 1 tier across approximately 300 competitive matches.
Despite their overall successful track record, they received a 14-day account suspension following a particularly challenging Maokai game where they achieved only 1 kill, 7 deaths, and 1 assist, resulting in a 20-minute defeat.
An official Riot Games support representative stated that “it was clearly apparent [their in-game actions] were providing advantages to the opposing team.”
“You abandoned the top lane position and remained near the dragon area specifically to prevent experience and gold acquisition throughout the remaining match duration,” the representative explained. However, as clarified by former LCS professional player Samson ‘Lourlo’ Jackson in discussions with Dexerto, this tactical positioning represents the fundamental core of the entire strategic approach.
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Strategy vs Trolling Debate
Saidenhide contested their suspension by arguing the strategy represents established meta gameplay, despite utilizing non-traditional champion selections for the top lane position.
“Although I’m not optimizing Gold and XP collection efficiency, my objective remains winning each individual match through greater influence on other lanes and creating more positive game impact than the opposing top laner,” they explained.
So instead of addressing the smite top strategy directly and instead of ensuring @RiotSupport understands current meta developments, we’re simply penalizing players without prior notification for employing strategically optimal approaches? Is this our serious stance? https://t.co/OVuuaR8A39 pic.twitter.com/eeyJbN2frl
— Duul’s Maths (@root2iris) February 12, 2022
“I feel significant concern about potential permanent account suspension in future scenarios if this temporary ban remains unresolved and I continue implementing this strategic approach.
“This situation appears profoundly unjust from my perspective, receiving punitive action for one specifically poor performance among many successful games where our team fell behind collectively and my strategic plan proved ineffective.”
This controversy emerges alongside increasing professional play adoption of this strategy, with top lane players worldwide selecting numerous enchanter champions equipped with Smite. There has even been documented professional usage of Smite Poppy in the top lane, with AXIZ competitor Yoshiki ‘YellowYoshi’ Fujimoto executing this approach in the LJL league (achieving 1/3/10 statistics in a victorious match, while also utilizing the Runesteel Spaulders support item).
Playing Unconventional Strategies Safely
When implementing innovative strategies like Smite top, players should adopt specific practices to minimize misunderstanding and potential punitive action. Begin each game by clearly communicating your strategic intentions during champion selection and early game phases. Explain that you’ll be adopting a roaming playstyle focused on map pressure rather than traditional laning dominance.
Maintain consistent performance metrics that demonstrate your commitment to victory. Even with unconventional approaches, your KDA, damage dealt, objective control, and vision score should remain competitive with traditional lane opponents. One disastrous game among many successful performances can trigger automated systems or player reports.
Understand that Riot’s support team may lack current meta knowledge, so prepare to provide context if questioned. Document your overall win rate and strategic consistency across multiple games rather than focusing on individual match performances. Consider recording gameplay to demonstrate intentional strategic execution versus actual trolling behavior.
Riot Games has not reversed Saidenhide’s account suspension, which was implemented through manual review processes rather than automated systems.
The key distinction between strategic innovation and trolling often lies in consistent performance, clear communication, and demonstrable win conditions. While Riot works to balance unconventional strategies through patch updates, players should remain aware that manual reviews may not always recognize emerging meta developments immediately.
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