Flashpoint will fine MIBR $10,000 for a breach in competitive integrity at Flashpoint season two, the tournament organizer announced today.
The decision comes two days after MIBR’s CS:GO team defeated OG 2-0 in Flashpoint season two’s upper bracket quarterfinal. During the match in question, the Brazilian team had a television tuned into Flashpoint’s official stream, which could be seen by the players. The stream has a huge delay, but MIBR still could have taken some advantage, such as OG’s tactical setups.
The long delay is there to prevent these kinds of situations, according to Flashpoint. But the tournament organizer has decided to still fine MIBR. “We still find MIBR’s actions to be a breach of competitive integrity in our event,” MonteCristo, Flashpoint’s commissioner, said today on stream.
The tournament organizer has also notified all teams that any evidence of watching the broadcast stream during their matches will result in disqualification. Flashpoint will donate the $10,000 from MIBR’s prize winnings to a Brazilian charity after the conclusion of the event.
The issue was addressed by MIBR’s head coach and manager Raphael “cogu” Camargo yesterday. According to cogu, they were watching Fnatic vs. Dignitas play and forgot to turn off the TV for their match. “I turned it off before the second map started after a friend suggested it to me by message,” cogu said in a Twitlonger.
The 33-year-old head coach and manager said he’d donate part of his prize winnings to a Brazilian charity. Cogu’s attitude was highly praised by Ari Segal, Immortals Gaming Club’s CEO, which is MIBR’s parental company. “Great example of strong leadership: take responsibility for an honest mistake,” Segal wrote.
Stream sniping has been an issue in CS:GO for ages, especially during online tournaments. The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) said yesterday that it has a zero-tolerance policy regarding stream sniping but it won’t issue bans based on cases that allegedly happened in the past. Instead, ESIC has recommended several measures to tournament organizers to prevent stream sniping moving forward.
