The A1 eSports League has its first scandal

Last year’s winner of the “Clash Royale” tournament is said to have offered opponents a victory for money – A1 suspended him

Austria’s first professional e-sports league has its first scandal. Clash Royale player “ItzSnakeZz” is said to have offered his opponent’s manager to deliberately lose the game if he gives him money for it. The e-athlete was about to receive a contract from WarKidZ E-Sports – the team distances itself from the player and wishes him a “good trip”. Also, the organizer has taken action: “ItzSnakeZz” was disqualified until further notice. The results of the group phase will also be examined more closely at A1.

Not a new phenomenon

“Win trading is not a new phenomenon in e-sports. Again and again, it happens that players or teams make agreements among themselves who wins the next game. Due to the increasing professionalization of e-sports, however, the organizers are now paying meticulous attention to preventing such behaviour and severely punishing players or teams. Win Trading” also occurs outside of tournaments, for example, to achieve a higher rank (ELO) at LoL.

Last season’s winner

“ItzSnakeZz was one of the best players in the Clash Royal A1. In last season’s final, he even won the tournament and secured 3,200 euros in prize money. However, the current season has not been too pleasant for the e-athlete: He could only win one of the last six games. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the organizer will have to clarify, probably still.

A1 professionalizes domestic e-sports

Mobile operator A1 has launched the A1 eSports League Austria 2017. Meanwhile, four games are part of the league: League of Legends, Clash Royale, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and rFactor 2. In 2019 alone 68.000 Euro prize money was distributed – the final took place in a well-filled gasometer in Vienna. E-Sport also played an important role at Game City 2019. According to the organizer, the largest Fortnite tournament in Europe took place here, where the 16-year-old Tyrolean Michael “geco” Schätzer finally prevailed. (dk, 23.10.2019)