Team Secret disquailified from SA PGI Qualifiers

Shocking news come from the South American PGI Qualifiers - one of the modern esports powerhouses have been disqualified from the event, the scandal keeps blowing up.

Here's the official statement from the org.

  1. Several weeks before PGI LATAM Qualifiers, we received instructions on travel and logistics. The guidebook indicated that coaches and managers were not allowed in the studio venue.  This seemed unorthodox, but we decided to have our coach communicate with the team electronically instead.
  1. A few days before arrival in Brazil, we received clarification that coaches and managers would be allowed in the studio venue. Nevertheless, as our coach Xanth is based in the US and unable to obtain a visa on short notice, we decided to push forward with our original plans.
  1. When we arrived at the studio, we found that Discord came pre-loaded onto the tournament PCs – which was great, and pretty standard practice. Our coach, Xanth, was able to communicate with the team in between games, including reviewing replays, discussing strategies, and reviewing maps.
  1. After our team was knocked out of Game 1, we tuned into the Twitch stream to continue watching the action – also very standard practice at most LANs, from Dreamhack to PGI NA to GLL. We were told this was not allowed, and we immediately turned off our monitors after being informed of this rule.
  1. During Game 2, while our team was LIVE IN GAME, our coach sent messages to the team Discord in order to prepare for Game 3. To be absolutely clear, all four of our players were LIVE IN GAME during this time, and had no knowledge of messages being sent to the team Discord.
  1. Tournament replays, Team Speak logs, and admins can all confirm – there is zero evidence that any player on Team Secret opened Discord while Game 2 was live – no AFK moments during the game, and admins watching our players the entire time. The information sent by Xanth (a review of drop sites for Game 3, irrelevant during the midst of Game 2) was noted AFTER Game 2 concluded, while the team was in huddle.
  1. Tournament admins wished to immediately disqualify us due to a timestamp of messages sent to the team Discord during Game 2, with no evidence of players doing anything during Game 2 other than playing the game itself – simply a message sent by our coach, read after the game, to prepare for the next.
  1. While tournament admins were busy in discussion, we requested to either delay Game 3 while the situation was being sorted out, or allow us to play Game 3 and sort the situation out later. If Games 3 and 4 were to start without us, there would be no going back from a hastily made decision.
  1. Unfortunately, the tournament decided to take the path of no return and start Game 3 without us during this time. Our team was informed of a full day disqualification decision shortly thereafter.  We were told we could continue on Day 2 and Day 3, but would start 4 games behind with a total of 0 points.  Our team was also then informed that Discord is not allowed – despite being pre-loaded on tournament PCs, being standard practice everywhere, and with no mention in the rules sheet.  For reference, players were actively on Discord during other PGI Qualifiers even through loading screens.
  1. Furthermore the Head of PUBG Esports Brazil held these discussions in the vicinity of other teams, leading to Twitter commentary before any decision was made, and certainly before our team was informed. Understandably, though we love Brazil, speculation from the Brazilian community of streamers were not on our side.
  1. We apologize to all #TeamSecret and #PUBG fans for how these events unfolded – and hope that you continue to support us during this difficult time. Our team has been to multiple LANs, and we hold integrity to the highest standard.  If any rules were broken, we would readily accept consequences – however in this case we believe we followed standard practice, and are open to a detailed review of our individual player replays and Team Speak recordings to clarify the situation.
  1. For reference, attached is the official rules sheet we received for PGI LATAM qualifiers.