I’m just a regular ranked gremlin who watches way too much Valorant, so when a coach gets benched harder than my duo after a five-game loss streak, I notice. Back in April 2025, Preston ‘Juv3nile’ Dornon — a 36-year-old Valorant coach who had been working with Leviatán during their VCT 2024 run — got hit with a 12-month suspension from all Riot-sanctioned esports competitions. In 2026, looking back, the whole saga still feels like a masterclass in how not to slide into DMs.
The Short Version, Because My Attention Span Is Ranked Bronze
Here’s the vibe: dozens of women came forward with DMs from Juv3nile, many of them in their late teens or early 20s. Riot investigated, decided this was harassment and a breach of their code of conduct, and dropped a one-year ban starting April 4, 2025. He was also required to complete executive training focused on conduct, respect, and professionalism. Global Esports stopped working with him effective immediately. No cap, that’s a rough Tuesday.
The allegations didn’t appear in a vacuum. They started bubbling up around claims against another coach, Fantomas, who was allegedly DMing women from a smaller regional league. That situation may not have been investigated further by the tournaments involved, but the conversation cracked the door open. Women who had been contacted by Juv3nile stepped forward, and suddenly the group chat energy was less ‘coaching strategy’ and more ‘sir, why are you like this?’
The DMs Were Not Exactly Shakespeare
From what was shared publicly, Juv3nile had a few cold-open messages he’d default to. Several women said they received the same copy-pasted DM. Others got replies to their tweets that somehow turned into flirty DMs. One reply reportedly read: ‘i gotchu, lets duo so I can start to gas light you, then I fly you in irl to watch us at riot arena.’ I mean… my guy, that’s not a pickup line. That’s a red flag wearing a headset.
There were patterns. He’d ask if someone wanted to be his ‘spoiled travel princess.’ He’d offer free coaching. He’d flex that he was ‘living in Seoul rn’ to tempt women into traveling out to see him. And according to the posts, he’d sometimes keep messaging for three to six months with no reply. That’s not persistence. That’s a subscription service nobody signed up for.
One detail that made fans collectively say ‘yikes’ was a message involving CNC, which stands for consensual non-consent. Telling a stranger you’re going to CNC her is not flirty banter. It’s the kind of thing that makes a normal person want to close the app, lock the door, and go touch grass for an hour. Fans under the leaked posts were not subtle. One user said ‘WORST RIZZ EVER.’ Another called him a ‘weirdo.’ The phrase ‘L rizz’ got thrown around like a ranked dodge timer.
| What was reported | How it landed |
|---|---|
| Copy-pasted DMs to multiple women | Instant ‘caught in 4K’ energy |
| Offers of free coaching | Weird flex, but okay |
| ‘Spoiled travel princess’ pitch | Cringe levels: critical |
| ‘Living in Seoul rn’ bait | Sir, this is not a travel ad |
| Months of no reply | My brother in ranked, read the room |
| CNC message | Hard nope, no debate |
Why This Still Matters in 2026
I’m a casual observer, not a Riot investigator, but even I can see the power imbalance here. A coach in a competitive scene has access, influence, and a platform. When that gets mixed with repeated unwanted advances, it stops being ‘awkward DMs’ and starts being a conduct issue. Riot clearly agreed. The 12-month suspension began on April 4, 2025, so by 2026 the calendar part has run its course. But reputational damage doesn’t expire just because a ban timer ends. That’s not how the internet works, and it’s definitely not how memory works.
The public record I’m working from says Juv3nile had not spoken publicly about the ruling, and his Twitter account had been quiet since March 19 — the day women began leaking their DMs. Maybe there’s a longer statement somewhere, maybe not. Either way, the silence was loud enough to hear from solo queue.
My Very Normal Gamer Reaction
Look, I’ve had bad DMs. I’ve been told my crosshair placement is ‘creative’ and my economy is ‘a war crime.’ But there’s a difference between being down bad in a video game and using a coaching role to spam the same awkward pitch to dozens of women. That’s not rizz. That’s a spreadsheet with a headset.
So yeah, I’m glad Riot acted. I’m glad the women spoke up. And I’m glad the scene got a very public reminder that ‘be normal’ is not a high-level skill. It’s the bare minimum. If you need a 12-month timeout and executive training to learn that, then buddy, the bench is calling, and it’s holding your spot.