Last September, Kurtis Lau “Toyz” Wai-Kin, a well-known League of Legends player, was arrested in Taipei, Taiwan. He was suspected of drug trafficking since the police found 200 marijuana pods when they searched his home. He apparently intended to sell all of it online. On September 28, 2021, Toyz was detained and tested by police – and he passed the drug test. However, they didn’t let him go until they questioned him further.
Positive Drug Test
After receiving his bail of 1,5 million Taiwan dollars (about $50,000), he should have been released. But while on detention, the Taichung District Prosecutor’s Office found a second-level drug reaction in Lau’s hair. He was sent to the Taichung Rehabilitation Center, where he stayed until January this year.
Lau Pleaded Guilty
In the end, he claimed he didn’t know Taiwanian laws well and pleaded guilty to all six crimes he was charged with. Lau didn’t appear in court, but he was sentenced to four years and two months of prison for two counts of attempted drug trafficking and four counts of second-degree drug trafficking. Seven more people, who assisted these crimes, got their sentences. The defense and Toyz himself hoped for less severe punishment.
Different Laws on Cannabis
Toyz comes from China, so perhaps he thought the punishment for his crime wouldn’t be too harsh even if he got caught. Marijuana is illegal in China, too, but for the amount of drugs he had, maybe he wouldn’t end up in prison. If he only consumed cannabis in his home country, he would be detained for 15 days and fined about 2,000 yuan. But in Taiwan, cannabis is considered a class II drug by Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, and possessing, selling, or consuming it would lead to years in prison. The most frequent punishment is 10 years of imprisonment and very high fines.
Toyz’s eSports Career
Not too long ago, only 10 years before this incident, Toyz was a mid laner for the famous League of Legends pro team Taipei Assassins. They won the Worlds Season 2 Championship and split the $1,000,000 prize, and Toyz took a big part in the finals match. He is known for his Orianna pick. In fact, thanks to Toyz, she got her Taipei Assassins-themed skin in the game. It is still available today, reminding the players of the Worlds 2012 winners.
The Beginnings
Toyz first started playing professionally in CrossGaming in 2011. The next year was already the highlight of his career. He joined Taipei Assassins and won the Worlds the same year. Unfortunately, he had to retire due to a wrist injury in 2013, stopping his rocketing career dead in its tracks. It was carpal tunnel syndrome, so after treatments and exercises, he got back into competitive gaming. Lau decided to form a team in 2015, Hong Kong eSports, with his former teammate Wang “Stanley” June Tsan. However, he ended up leaving the team quickly. The problem was match-fixing, as he claims.
Coaching Career
After the injury, Lau switched to coaching. His first team was actually Fnatic, and he trained the team for the Worlds 2014. They weren’t very successful in the tournament, failing to get far from the group stage. But he continued on the same path (when Hong Kong eSports didn’t work out).
He established another pro team in 2016: Raise Gaming, and trained them to qualify for bigger tournaments. They managed to win the 2017 ECS Spring and qualify for the LMS, which confirmed Lau’s coaching skills. The team changed the name to G-Rex, and Lau became their Director of eSports before leaving them in 2019.
Toyz Establishing the Last Team
In March this year, Lau announced a new team, but wouldn’t be about League of Legends this time – ANT Esports Club was to compete in Apex Legends. The name alludes to players working as hard and jointly as ants.
One of the goals of this team is to show that “Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau divisions are not only “League of Legends,“ as he said in an interview. There are talented players in other games, and Toyz claimed he was making a better environment for them to play and prove their qualities.
Well, at least that was the idea. Now that he ended up in prison, we’re not sure what awaits the newly founded team.
“Before Faker, There Was Toyz”
Many Reddit users compare this 30-year-old to Faker. Toyz also received a Medal of Honour in 2019 from the Hong Kong government for his contributions to eSports. So, there is no doubt that Toyz is an amazing player, but his career in eSports had to end. No one stays in competitive gaming for too long.
Toyz’s Social Media Fame
Lau is very active on social media, where he posts highlights of LoL matches, streams, and vlogs. Thousands of people follow him. He has two official YouTube channels, with 726K and 235K subscribers. On Twitch, 324K people watch his streams, while the Instagram account has 197K followers. In his “about” on Instagram, he wrote “Comedian.” Another account is linked to Lau’s: his own clothing brand called the “4% Club”. The logo shows a broken heart and a tear dropping from one half of it. All in all, Toyz was doing great until the cannabis story kicked in.
