A $5,000 fine and probation for the Head Coach,100 Thieves VALORANT faced Riot Hammer. But the organization had strong words to say to Riot Games.
Riot Games has placed 100 Thieves coach, Hector “FrosT” Rosario on probation after alleged ‘unprofessional behavior’. The alleged infraction took place during the quarterfinal match between Rosario and a tournament official. The game developer also fined 100 Thieves $5,000 for delaying the start of the match.
The Situation
100Thieves and Immortals were the two participants in the online quarterfinals of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2021: North America Stage 1 Masters on March 12. While Immortals’ players had single-digit pings, some 100Thieves players had over 80 ping. In an FPS game such as VALORANT, such a big ping difference can have a massive impact on the competitive situation.
Unhappy over the server choice, 100Thieves players delayed the start of the match by entering the in-game training range. Meanwhile, coach FrosT hopped into a call with tournament officials to debate the server choice.
According to Riot Games, FrosT refused to accept the tournament officials’ decision. On being informed that the delay could result in 100Thieves’ disqualification, FrosT allegedly threatened to leverage the players’ reach on social media against Riot Games.
The Verdict
The situation came to a close after a Riot Games’ employee intervened. The match was already delayed by an hour at this point. Riot Games has now put the coach on probation in addition to a $5,000 fine for 100 Thieves.
FrosT displayed unprofessional behavior in interaction with a Tournament Official. FrosT used unprofessional language and threatened to retaliate through 100 Thieves’s social media presence if forced into a disqualification due to noncompliance. These are violations of rule 7.1.2 of the VALORANT Global Competition Policy.
Any violations of the rules during the probation period would result in ‘enhanced punishments’. This may include a possible ban from competitive play in the future as per Riot Games.
The Response
100Thieves said it intends to pay the fine and wants to ‘move on’. But the organization also released video footage of the coach in conversation with the tournament official.
The team also released a statement ‘strongly disagreeing’ with Riot Games’ public release and mischaracterization of the situation. The , according to the org, a minor competitive matter. The organization claimed Riot Games favored TSM in a similar situation before. The players held up the match in order to allow the coach to challenge the ruling.
FrosT was fighting for competitive integrity according to the organization. The statement calls the organizers actions unreasonable.
100Thieves will participate in phase two of the VALORANT ChampionsTour that begins on April 1.