Riot outlined a competitive ruling today that fines 100 Thieves $5,000 for delaying their VCT Masters quarterfinals match against Immortals by one hour.
100 Thieves disagreed with tournament officials on the server selected and entered the shooting range to prevent the match from starting, according to Riot. Head coach Hector “FrosT” Rosario is also being placed on competitive probation for the remainder of the 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour due to demonstrating “unprofessional behavior” toward a tournament official.
Teams and tournament officials typically work together to find the server most equidistant to both parties. But 100 Thieves disagreed with the officials’ decision and delayed the start of the match. FrosT then joined a Discord channel to speak with a tournament official and treated them “in an unprofessional manner,” according to Riot.
“When reminded that failing to start the game pursuant to the Tournament Official’s decision can result in disqualification, FrosT threatened to leverage players’ social media platforms against the Tournament Organizer and Riot Games as a response,” the ruling reads. “A Riot Games employee entered the channel and reiterated the server decision, the rationale behind the decision, and the finality of the decision.”
Any further violation during FrosT’s probation period will be considered a second offense and may include a ban from competitive play.
Riot cited violations on three separate rules from the VALORANT Global Competition Policy, including starting the match on time, maintaining the “highest standards of personal integrity and good sportsmanship,” and complying with the decisions of tournament officials.
While 100 Thieves swept Immortals in that quarterfinals match, they eventually fell to Gen.G in the lower bracket of Masters. The team earned 20 circuit points for their top-six placement.
Update March 23 7:30pm CT: 100 Thieves responded to Riot’s ruling with a statement and a video showing a discussion with the tournament official from FrosT’s perspective. The organization disagrees with the ruling and feels Riot mischaracterized the incident after 100 Thieves complied with the investigation.
The statement also mentions a previous ruling regarding ping and servers that favored TSM over 100 Thieves, which was a “direct contradiction” to the ruling made against them in their VCT Masters match with Immortals.
“We feel our coach was fighting for our players and fans in advocating for competitive integrity,” the statement reads. “We’re moving forward and our sole focus is on improving our team’s performance for the upcoming VALORANT tournaments.”
Update March 23 9:50pm CT: Riot updated its competitive ruling following 100 Thieves’ statement.
“Three independent witnesses provided testimony that FrosT made a statement to this effect. When asked directly about it in an interview by Riot League Operations personnel, FrosT admitted that he made this statement. Although 100 Thieves provided Riot with a clip showing FrosT’s side of the conversation that does not include this statement, they declined to provide the full video to Riot.”
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