Riot Games suspends esports team Shopify Rebellion's coach from the VCT Game Changers grand finals after a controversial violation.
This year's Valorant Game Changers marks the first women's global professional tournament organized by Riot Games in Berlin, Germany. The top eight teams from around the globe will face off in a Valorant tournament to decide who will raise the first Game Changers trophy.
The tournament started on Nov. 15, with the grand finals currently underway as the qualified teams compete for the pioneer championship title on Nov. 20.
However, this year's eSports scene is mixed in with some drama as the up-and-coming Shopify Rebellion team raised controversial headlines after an esports violation.
Why Did Shopify Rebellion's Coach Get Suspended On VCT Game Changers?
During the fourth day of the Valorant Game Changers tournament, esports team Shopify Rebellion took down both teams Cloud9 White and Liquid Brazil during their lower-bracket miracle run, according to Dexerto.
However, things quickly took a turn for the worse as Shopify Rebellion's coach, Rob 'Robwiz' Kennedy, was caught on camera making an "offensive gesture" towards the Cloud9 White team.
According to a competitive ruling from Riot posted on the Valorant Esports official Twitter, coach Robwiz violated rule 7.1.2 for the offensive gesture toward their opponents.
"Coaches must observe the highest standard of personal integrity and good sportsmanship," Riot expressed in their statement.
A competitive ruling has been issued against Rob “Robwiz” Kennedy. #VCTGameChangers pic.twitter.com/XxWpsgTWOy
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) November 20, 2022
Following Riot's decision, Shopify Rebellion's coach Kennedy is currently banned from the grand finals, leaving his players on their own to strategize for the team. Kennedy expressed his regret at the violation in a recent Tweet.
Heat of the moment got the best of me sorry. Endured a lot this year and the emotions took over. Fell down to their level for a second, all good
— SR rob-wiz (@robw1z) November 19, 2022
Meanwhile, Cloud9 White team leader Melanie "MeL" Capone clarified in a tweet that they did not feel any ill feelings toward the "offensive gesture," implying that the decision to ban Kennedy came from Riot instead of C9's complaint.
for what it's worth, this was not instigated by my team. lexi and I were just talking to @robw1z about the clip earlier to tell him we thought it was funny and that there's no bad blood between us.
— SR meL (@melanji) November 20, 2022
heartbroken for them 💔 https://t.co/Bc6Qi5vjpZ
Shopify Rebellion's Coach Suspension Draws Mixed Reactions From Esports Community
Following the announced suspension of Shopify Rebellion's coach, netizens took to Twitter to express mixed reactions regarding the issue.
Fans engaged in debates on the Twitter thread regarding the harshness of the punishment - some justified the suspension considering that the "offensive gesture" was unbecoming of a coach in a professional tournament.
Additionally, renowned players in the esports scene waded in on the discussion. Content creator for esports team Sentinels Tarik pointed out that both teams, Shopify Rebellion and Cloud9 White engaged in trash-talking throughout the game, expressing that the punishment was not fair in his opinion.
Should be only a warning since both teams were trash talking throughout. Not a fair consequence imo
— tarik (@tarik) November 20, 2022
As of writing, the Valorant Game Changers Grand Finals is available to stream on Valorant's official Twitch and Youtube. Players can tune in to the live stream to receive the event-exclusive Game Changers player card.
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Written by: Andi C.
