Replay of the first round duel in the first RMR event.
Hello, my name is Alex and I am the main author of EsportFire.com. My last blog post was a while ago and was about the future of 6-man rosters. Due to the recent Flashpoint and NiP situation, I'd like to get back to you today. These blog posts are not, like the rest of the articles on this site, objective, but about my personal view and opinion. I will try to work up the facts on the subject first, and later share multiple views as well as my own. Feel free to send me feedback either on Twitter (@jAlexCSGO) or via email (Alex@EsportFire.com).
Brief overview
A brief overview of the topic. On Friday the 14.05.2021 NiP and Anonymo met in the first round duel of Flashpoint 3. The Ninjas signed up the Danish superstar dev1ce after their great success at the ESL Pro League (3-4th place). The player, who lives in Sweden anyway, is one of the most successful CS:GO players of all time and made his debut for NiP at Flashpoint. Anonymo is a Polish Tier-2 team consisting of Snax, innocent, mynio, KEi and Kylar and was the very clear underdog in the run-up to the duel. However, the encounter finally ended with a 2:1 victory for Anonymo. After a clear defeat on the first map Overpass (16:3 for NiP) Anonymo prevailed on Nuke (16:13) and Mirage (19:17).
Problem
Already during the game there was a long pause and the players of NiP complained about technical problems, which could not be solved. The problem was a so-called packet loss, which affects and significantly worsens the connection to the server. This represented a significant aggravation of the situation for the players of NiP. According to their own statements, Anonymo offered a postponement of the duel, which was not enforced. Whether NiP or Flashpoint did not agree to this postponement is not 100% clear from the statements, but it is very likely that Flashpoint, the organizer of the tournament, resisted a postponement and threatened NiP with a "default lose". After the game, there was a big outcry from the players, who complained about the unfair conditions and big problems. As it turned out the next day, the Ninjas couldn't do anything about the technical problems. These were due to Flashpoint's servers and simply worsened the connection of the Swedes.
Further course
First, Anonymo released a statement in which they spoke (relatively reproachfully towards NiP and Flashpoint) about a replay of the match. Flashpoint decided to replay the duel after complaints from the top Swedish team. Anonymo was given a choice between replaying the last map or the entire bo3 duel. Furthermore the statement from the Polish organization caused a huge outcry in the community. Fans as well as other players, coaches and officials spoke out against the replay and condemned it. Flashpoint themselves also published a rather congruent statement in which they announced the replay. The next day NiP posted an explanation of the sequence. The statement explains that already on Saturday (one day before the statements) it turned out that the problems were server-side and therefore from Flashpoint themselves and both teams were informed about a rescheduling. Anonymo did not agree to the first match date (Sunday evening). As a supplementary date the 18.05.2021 at 21:00 was finally agreed.
Explanations
According to current information, it seems that the organizer (Flashpoint) wanted to go through with the duel in the first place and did not respond to the postponement requests from NiP, because at the moment of the complaints it was not verifiable whether the problems were server-side or caused by NiP. Assuming that the connection problems originated from NiP, Flashpoint was not willing to cancel or postpone the game. In the end, however, it turned out that the Swedes were not responsible for the technical problems, which ultimately led to the replay of the third map.
Final findings
In the end, NiP, visibly influenced by the social pressure of the last days, won on Mirage and thus also the entire duel. With 16:14 NiP prevailed on the third map and thus advanced to the upper-bracket quaterfinals.
Do we now deal with a "frightening precedent" of which many spoke? In my opinion, absolutely not. This would be the case if the game was repeated due to technical problems on the part of NiP. However, since the problems were exclusively and demonstrably caused by the organizer Flashpoint, this is entirely a case of unfairness and the game should have been postponed from the start. (This failed because of the lack of knowledge, as mentioned earlier)
While at the beginning I could not classify the game replay news, my opinion changed more and more away from blaming NiP in any way. The team was clearly disadvantaged in an enormously important game and could not do anything about it. The organization only appealed after the game was over, because after further investigation they could clearly prove that the problem was on the side of the organizer. Thus, in my opinion, is an absolutely understandable reaction to an unfortunate situation. What can be criticized, however, are sometimes hasty statements and messages on the social channels. The frustration after the defeat tempts however understandably to emotional actions.
Flashpoint must therefore take full responsibility in this topic and should have done so from the beginning in my opinion. A critical and partly misleading statement on the part of Anonymo further heightened the situation in the beginning and also the public messages on the part of Flashpoint were inconclusive for a long time and far from optimal. Nevertheless, I am also of the opinion that mistakes are human. I understand the frustration of all Anonymo supporters and fans, understand that such a serious mistake should not happen at an such important tournament, nevertheless there is no point in hating anyone for it. Flashpoint is aware that this was a serious mistake and the admin in charge certainly didn't have nice days either. All in all, even this unfortunate situation will lead to a long-term improvement in the process operations at Pro-Events and provide a sustainable improvement.
That's it for today's blog post. I wish you a nice day and hope for a fair, exciting qualifying series for the upcoming Major Event.
Your Alex
