Yolo Knight, a European stack that was playing in the WePlay! Pushka League Divison Two, forfeited their series against Vikin.gg in the lower bracket finals today. The team was unable to provide a full roster for the games.
Yolo Knight used a total of 10 different players for their matches throughout Division Two. The list included players who have previously played for teams in the same tournament but had already been eliminated, like Kirill “Sunlight” Kachinsky from Aggressive Mode and veterans like MISERY, who last played for Cloud9.
Whether it was OG’s N0tail falling ill during the EPICENTER Major 2019, Neta “33” Shapira unable to attend the Kuala Lumpur Major in Malaysia due to him holding an Israeli passport, or numerous stars like Miracle- and Somnus simply opting to sit out a tournament due to fatigue, stand-ins and substitutes are an understandable necessity.
Teams must play with at least four of its five registered players during qualifiers and will incur a 40-percent penalty on DPC points if they play with one stand-in for the “LAN portion of a tournament,” according to Valve’s Dota Pro Circuit 2019-20 rules. While the Pushka League doesn’t fall under the purview of the DPC, Valve’s rules serve as a good guideline for any tournament organizer. This will be especially true next year when Valve officially selects organizers to run its Regional Leagues for the 2020-21 DPC.
Related: Dota 2 will adopt Regional Leagues after The International, Valve says
In Yolo Knight’s case, WePlay! didn’t have a clear precedent on the rules. The organizer also didn’t provide any corresponding punishment for the team. Rather, the team has chosen to forfeit the series, possibly due to negative community backlash after a call out from Ben “Noxville” Steenhuisen.
WePlay! has been under scrutiny for its recent actions while handling the Pushka League. Known for its high production quality and meme-driven filler content, the organizer has come under fire for issuing an illegal DMCA to a Brazillian streamer and its inaction regarding the eliminated Chicken Fighters roster qualifying for Division One after Ninjas in Pyjamas signed the team.
With the forfeit of Yolo Knight, Vikin.gg move on to the grand finals of Division Two to face Team Unique and guarantee themselves a berth in Division One next season. Vikin.gg showcased blistering form while playing in a previous online tournament, ESL One Los Angeles Online, where they managed to beat Europe’s titans, such as Team Secret, en route to a third-place finish.
Published: May 11, 2020 04:46 pm