PUBG team’s championship dreams shattered after mid-game power outage, fans call for justice

After a power outage disconnected all four of their players from a crucial decider match, a promising underdog PUBG team’s PGC ‘23 run was cut short as Krafton, citing the tournament’s rules, chose to continue the game with no damage control, leaving fans outraged.

In a tweet on Nov. 28, PUBG Esports announced all four players of Team Question Mark—an orgless Russian PUBG team—were disconnected from Match 10 of PGC ‘23 Last Chance stage because of an “unknown power failure,” but the game will continue regardless “in accordance with the tournament rules.” “No further actions will be taken. The match will proceed as scheduled without alterations,” the ruling read. 

It’s worth noting that PUBG Global Championship ‘23 is an offline tournament, so the game was, in fact, in a LAN setup. Team Question Mark isn’t liable for the power outage that kicked them out of the match, but are being punished for it regardless.

PGC ‘23’s Last Chance stage ended with eight surviving teams qualifying for the grand finals, set to be held between Dec. 1 and 3. Team Question Mark could have been one of the finalists, had the ruling been in their favor—as it should be. Looking at the final scoreboard of the Last Chance stage, Team Question Mark seems to have missed out on a finals spot by a mere three-point difference—truly disappointing. 

The lesser-known Russian roster fought through the challenges of the PGC EMEA league, standing strong against top-dog teams like FaZe, Acend, and FUT, to qualify for the year’s most prestigious LAN tournament, only to be met with disqualification due to reasons beyond their control.  

Expectedly, esports fans are calling Krafton and the organizer out for making such an unacceptable decision in a tournament featuring a total prize pool of $2,000,000. “This is an display of extreme unprofessionalism and 0 care for the livelihood of your players that keep your scene alive and well,” one fan read. 

Another fan called the decision “awful,” highlighting a couple of fair actions Krafton could have embraced instead, including restarting the game or helping the players reconnect to match at least.

Featuring a total prize pool of $2,000,000, PUBG Global Championship ‘23 is undoubtedly a large-scale tournament. Decisions made here definitely have a major impact on a participating team and player, especially from the financial perspective.

Krafton should’ve considered the consequence its ruling might have before posing as a roadblock in Team Question Mark’s road to success. That said, considering the names of the PGC ‘23 grand finalists have already been announced, it’s unlikely that the ruling will change.