Team Vitality has publicly backed League of Legends hosts Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere and Laure Valée, after both women faced a wave of online abuse for criticising Luka “Perkz” Perković’s comments on abortion. In a post at 15:03 UTC on 10 November, Vitality’s League of Legends account said creating “safe, inclusive and supportive online spaces” was something it would keep working towards. The statement came a day after a clip spread on X in which Sjokz described the pressure she has faced while hosting Worlds 2026. Posts summarising that clip said she had changed hotel rooms overnight because of security concerns.
The row began shortly after midnight UTC on 5 November, when Perkz, then G2 Esports’ head coach, published a long personal statement on X. In it, he said he is Catholic and described abortion as murder because “life is created at conception”, calling it “one view I will die by and never change”. G2 ended its relationship with him less than 14 hours later, in a statement signed by chief executive Alban Dechelotte, as we reported in our story on his exit. Perkz deleted his X account the following day, and he has not commented publicly since.
What Sjokz and Laure Valée said about Perkz
Sjokz responded first in a short video, in which she said that “sometimes saying nothing is better than saying something”. In a second clip later on 5 November, she told viewers that “not all of you are gonna be happy about the direction of this video”, adding that she is “always championing women and women’s rights”. That evening she posted on X that she would not be on the platform “for a while”, because she was “just trying to focus on worlds”. Valée, a fellow LEC host, was quoted in a clip shared on X as saying: “Our body, our choice, that’s it.”
The abuse aimed at both women grew over the weekend. In the clip shared on 9 November, Sjokz described herself as “a lightning rod for all these things”, and said women see her as someone who inspires them. “I will happily share the burden, so you have a better future,” she said. The gaming news account Pirat_Nation, which summarised her remarks, also said she was considering a break after Worlds, although TalkEsport could not confirm that from her own posts. She has continued to host the event, whose Swiss Stage was played in Allen, Texas, as she showed in her latest Worlds vlog.
Vitality, Kameto and others back the two hosts
Vitality’s message ended by extending its support to Sjokz, Valée “and all women across the League of Legends community and the wider esports scene”. The post had passed 200,000 views within a few hours. Karmine Corp founder Kameto also condemned the people harassing the pair during a stream, according to the French account Actu2Twitch, and French outlet Parlons Esport offered them its “full support”. TalkEsport had not seen a public statement from Riot Games or the LEC on the harassment by Tuesday evening, UTC.
Many fans and casters made the same point in different words, that disagreeing with someone is different from threatening them. Posts describing death threats against Sjokz were widely shared, although TalkEsport has not seen the messages themselves. Some of Perkz’s supporters said he had also received abuse after his post, which TalkEsport has not been able to verify either. Both women are among the best-known presenters in the game, and Sjokz has hosted League of Legends broadcasts for more than a decade.
The double-standards debate around Perkz’s firing
Others argued that the real injustice was done to Perkz. Croatian MEP Stephen Nikola Bartulica offered “full support” to the Croatian coach in a post on 7 November, which passed 180,000 views. “Freedom of conscience, religious liberty and diversity of thought must apply to everyone, not only those who share the prevailing opinion,” he wrote. He added that no one should “face professional punishment simply for standing by their moral and religious beliefs”.
Vitality’s statement drew sharp criticism of its own from some fans. A widely shared post from a parody account accused the club of hypocrisy, pointing to its place in the Esports Foundation’s 2026 Club Partner Program for the Saudi-backed Esports World Cup. Other replies told Sjokz that freedom of speech “does not mean freedom from consequences”, the same argument her supporters had made about Perkz. The debate has played out while G2 begins a difficult rebuild for 2027, with no head coach and several contracts expiring.
Worlds 2026 has continued throughout, with BLG ending T1’s run as the knockout stage moves towards its final. G2 has said it will not announce any staff or roster changes until free agency officially opens. Perkz’s original post is no longer available, because his X account was deleted on 6 November.
