- A top-ranking gamer at a Chinese internet cafe was discovered as a suspect wanted for civil assault.
- The cafe announced that the top-tier player had started playing, and the off-duty officer turned to take a look at who the skilled player was.
- The officer recognized the man from a wanted list and arrested him.
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An off-duty policeman in China was spending his weekend break at an internet cafe when he discovered that a top-ranking "League of Legends" video gamer there was, in fact, a criminal suspect, reported Chinese media.
Rookie officer Zhang Yihao, who works in the city of Chongqing, arrested the gamer on August 8. He was identified as a suspect named Tang who was wanted for civil assault, per local outlet CQ News.
Zhang said that he was headed to the bathroom when an announcement on the gaming cafe's intercom system declared that a top player from China's "Ionia" server had started playing there. "Ionia" is China's oldest "League of Legends" server and is considered one of its most prestigious, meaning its highest-ranking players garner recognition and attention from other gamers.
Curious to see who the skilled player was, Zhang turned to take a look and did a double-take when he recognized the man from the police department's wanted list.
Zhang said he alerted his colleague, who happened to be at the cafe with him, and the pair used photos on their mobile phones to confirm that the gamer was indeed Tang.
They then called for uniformed backup and arrested the man, according to CQ News.
Footage of the confrontation posted by Elephant Media shows the suspect later being escorted behind bars.
The online PC game "League of Legends" is so popular in China that it has 29 servers with hundreds of thousands of players in each - while other regions have one or two servers. It is one of the most played games in the country.