NBK will play for Double Poney during the Flashpoint Season 3 RMR event. There is a chance his team would face OG in the second round (or even in the lower bracket). But Valve has allowed this potential conflict of interest to go through.
French CS:GO superstar, Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt, will play as a stand-in for Double Poney during the upcoming Flashpoint Season 3. The 26-year-old player is contracted to Team OG who are also competing in the same event. This could be a case of a massive conflict of interest. However, Double Poney has received approval from Valve, Flashpoint as well as OG to field NBK in the tournament.
NBK to stand in for Double Poney during Flashpoint Season 3
Earlier in February, OG announced they are benching NBK from the active lineup. The player has been mostly inactive since then. Flashpoint Season 3 is a European Regional Major Ranking event. Teams earn RMR points that contribute to their chances of qualifying for the PGL Stockholm Major later in the year.
Double Poney is a team comprising French players such as Lucas "Lucky" Chastang and Alexandre "bodyy" Pianaro. The team fielded NBK in the closed qualifiers leading up to Flashpoint Season 3. Double Poney finished in fifth place defeating HAVU Gaming in the decider match. NBK had already announced his departure from Double Pony after the closed qualifiers but recently revealed he will play for the team in the main event as well.
The player has now received permission to play in the Valve tournament. In the tweet, NBK thanks Flashpoint, Valve and OG for allowing to play in the RMR event.
Conflict of Interest? Double Poney could match up against OG in the second round
If Double Poney and OG win their respective Upper Bracket Round 1 matches, it could lead to a massive conflict of interest situation. The two teams could also lose their opening matches and face each other down in the lower bracket. OG benched NBK earlier this year but the player is still officially a part of the organization. If NBK were to match up against the team he is officially contracted to, it could lead to massive conflicts of interest in a Valve-sponsored tournament.
While no one doubts NBK’s integrity, the slightest possibility of an opportunity for wrongdoing is a conflict of interest. Valve should come down heavily on such a possibility, but it seems the game developer has actually approved this transition. It will be interesting to see if NBK will still be a part of OG esports when he plays for Double Poney during this tournament.
Will NBK play against OG?
Double Poney will not field NBK in its lineup if they are to face OG, according to Nel. Pierre ‘Ex3rcice’ Bulinge will replace him on the lineup in such an instance.
Whether this is enough to quell the conflict of interest voices is still up for debate. The players mentioned they got permission from Flashpoint, Valve and OG. However, neither organization has released any official statement yet.
Flashpoint commissioner Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles said Valve makes all the roster decisions for RMR events.
Flashpoint Season 3 kicks off on May 10 and will run through the month. The tournament has a double-elimination bracket and rewards its top teams with RMR points.
The latest CS:GO update added a new map to the active duty map pool. Ancient has an Aztec-theme to it and will replace Train on the Active duty map pool. Besides the map change, Valve has also launched the CSGO 360 stats, a paid subscription service for CSGO users to view detailed analysis of their statistics.
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