Richard Lewis (journalist)

In early 2015, Lewis's Reddit account was banned from commenting or posting on the League of Legends subreddit due to "sustained abusive behavior" after several warnings and a temporary ban.[5] Shortly after, Lewis wrote several articles questioning the relationship between the moderators of the subreddit and the game's developer Riot Games, revealing that subreddit moderators were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements with the developer[6] and that several former moderators were later hired by the company.[7] A month later, a moderator for the subreddit announced that his content would be banned from the site after users on the subreddit critical of Lewis were allegedly harassed upon Lewis posting their comments on Twitter. "His YouTube channel, his articles, his Twitch, and his Twitter are no longer welcome in this subreddit. We will also not allow any rehosted content from this individual."[5] In an interview with Kotaku, Lewis defended himself by disputing the initial allegations of abusive behavior, and argued that he had never asked his followers on Twitter to harass Reddit users. "The mods are doing this to try and get me fired [from The Daily Dot]."[8]

In November 2015 at DreamHack Winter 2015, police were called following a physical altercation between Lewis and Alliance Dota 2 player Jonathan 'Loda' Berg. On Twitter, Berg claimed he was strangled by Lewis, and Lewis responded saying he acted defensively when confronted by Berg who should not have been allowed backstage. Lewis told PC Gamer he apologized to Berg and that the police found it reasonable he felt threatened by Berg's actions. Police confirmed an assault was reported but no charges were filed.[9][2] DreamHack responded saying that Berg "aggressively approached" Lewis, and while the two were yelling at each other, Lewis was the first to initiate physical contact by grabbing Berg's neck when he felt threatened. DreamHack intended to ask both Berg and Lewis to leave, but after apologizing to each other they were allowed to stay, however, DreamHack announced they would no longer work with Richard Lewis. "We cannot condone violent behavior at our events."[10]

In late 2015, it was reported that broadcasting conglomerate Turner would be launching a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional league, called ELEAGUE, which would be aired weekly on the American television channel TBS.[11] Lewis was invited to be a host for the league in 2016.[12] In April 2018, Lewis announced that after two years with ELEAGUE he would be leaving as the full-time host to pursue other opportunities.[13]

In July 2018, ESP Gaming announced that Richard Lewis would serve as Director of Talent and oversee the on-air personalities for a new multi-genre esports tournament series called the "World Showdown of Esports (WSOE)."[14]

In September 2020, Lewis became the first editor-at-large of Dexerto.[15] In Fall 2021, Lewis began working as a lecturer at the University of New Haven, teaching an online course for student in the school's Master’s in Esports Business program, alongside Declan Hill.[16] In October 2022, Lewis became a contributor to a new esports media network Last Free Nation co-founded by Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles and Duncan "Thorin" Shields.[17]

In March 2023, Lewis broke the news about the imminent launch of Counter-Strike 2.[18]

Lewis was a close friend and roommate of Maria "Remilia" Creveling, the first woman to play in the League Championship Series. He was the first to publicly announce her 2019 death.[21][22]