On 7/29, H2k Gaming were scheduled to play against Gamers2. The manager of H2k Gaming notified us at 11am CEST on game day that the team was having some “internal problems” and asked about the consequences of not playing. A Challenger Series official reminded the team manager about the substitute policy and tried to work with the team to find a solution so H2k could still play that day. The team was also warned that failure to show up for the match would result in a sacrificing of prize money. Three hours before the match, the team concluded that they still could not field a full roster and informed CS officials that they would be forfeiting.

Relevant Rules

Section 7.5 of the official Challenger Series ruleset states:

“All players will be expected to be ready to join the game lobby at the time specified by the CS officials. Readiness includes, but is not limited to, five rostered players having completed client patching, configuration of in-game settings, and completed rune and mastery pages.”

Ruling

H2k Gaming has violated Section 7.5 of the Challenger Series and will be subject to penalties.

Competition Penalties

H2k Gaming’s prize money is:

Deducted by $750 USD (difference of the prize money from 4th and 5th-8th place)

Conclusion & Final Thoughts

We’re applying a “no play, no pay” fine and taking away the money H2k would have earned from playing in the 3rd place match and dropping them down to the next level of prize money. This rationale is specifically for a willful forfeiture (the team chose not to play) versus a disqualification, emergency, or technical problem that blocks a team from competing (e.g. failure to patch).