Drawing the curtain: LionsCreed, Esports Scotland and making DMs public to seek the truth in esports – opinion

drawing back the curtain

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This week, UK esports org LionsCreed published a series of tweets claiming one of their Rainbow Six players was unfairly banned by Esports Scotland, and made some of the tournament organiser’s private explanations public.

Esports News UK editor Dom Sacco weighs in on the situation and shares his opinion on the wider topic of making DMs public in esports, and the effect this can have.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to write this article.

This was supposed to be my week off, damnit. But, esports being esports, the UK scene finds ways to drag me back in and I can’t help myself. No rest for the wicked.

I’ve been talking to LionsCreed and Esports Scotland a lot this week. I’ve spoken to a few other orgs, done a bit of digging, the usual. But I decided to write an opinion piece, rather than a traditional news story – and here’s why.

I have written many, many news stories like the situation between LionsCreed and Esports Scotland before. It’s something that happens a lot in esports – one person says one thing, another says something different. There is conflicting information. Someone is lying – or not being entirely honest or clear.

In this case, LionsCreed say that Esports Scotland have shown a ‘clear bias’ towards them. They believe the organiser went to their rival team, TPO, asking them for evidence of LionsCreed player BaldPleb’s negative behaviour to get him banned, but that there isn’t sufficient evidence.

Esports Scotland believes behaviour from both LionsCreed and TPO has been ‘unacceptable’ and ‘self-destructive’ in recent weeks, and thus took the decision not to stream the big game between both sides:

Esports Scotland haven’t spoken publicly about BaldPleb’s ban, but I did reach out to them and talk to them for their side of the story. However, this was off the record and, without being given access to their evidence of LionsCreed player ‘BaldPleb’ displaying apparent toxic, threatening or harassing behaviour, there is no way I can publish and state for sure he has been fairly banned. So, I’m not going down that road, because I can’t be sure I have 100% correct information.

It’s like when you’re visiting an Online Betting Site – you don’t know whether you’ll win or lose when you gamble (please make sure you are over 18 years old when doing so, obviously).

I’ve seen a lot of screenshots and DMs. And there is a lot of conflicting information. TPO’s coach said they had ‘nothing to do with Esports Scotland’s original report, but was sent it by more than one nameless persons’. One TPO player even left over the whole thing:

You guys are smart, you can make your own minds up as to whether Esports Scotland are in the wrong or not.

What I will say is this: if Esports Scotland have suspended a player based on a ‘he said, she said’ type of situation without clear evidence, that’s of course poor form. Likewise, if anyone has made up information about the player in question, it’s equally so.

On the other hand, Esports Scotland may have additional evidence that helped them make their decision. They are under no obligation to share said evidence with LionsCreed, or me, or anyone, especially if said evidence was presented to them in confidence.

Esports News UK understands both TPO and LionsCreed have received yellow card warnings for their actions, but only a player of LionsCreed’s was suspended.

But, I (massively) digress. The point I’m making in this opinion piece is that this kind of thing happens regularly in esports. And it’s of course not exclusive to esports. It’s about people.

Esports is social, it’s connected, it’s about the different interactions people have with one another – the TO, the team, the coach, the player, the fan, the content creator, the list goes on.

Esports is about competition, it involves egos, it fosters rivalries. These rivalries can spark heated debates and toxic behaviour. I’m not saying that’s exactly what happened here, but in general I see it a lot. In the lower tiers, it’s less professional, it’s grassroots, the door is open for this kind of thing to happen more frequently. Amateur orgs and players have less to lose than a Fnatic or a Rekkles.

I’m going off on a tangent here. But I will say this.

From my time in esports and what I’ve seen, making info public that has been delivered privately, and is intended to stay private (in this case, the screenshots evidence from Esports Scotland to LionsCreed) can have big repercussions.

When you draw that curtain, anything can happen.

It can force a response out of the other party, or it can cause them to clam up, to turtle into their shells and minimise communications with those who have called them out. It can worsen relationships, however it can clear the air and even improve them.

What usually happens is you get a back and forth of statements, that oppose one another, creating that aforementioned ‘he said, she said’ situation. Honestly, I’m tired of it.

Paul Chaloner wrote in his ‘this is esports’ book recently, that ‘cheating, drama and fallout’ in esports isn’t newsworthy. I get where he’s coming from now, honestly. Maybe I should step back from covering this kind of thing – what do you think?

We can do better. All of us. Esports Scotland might have been in the wrong here. BaldPleb might have. TPO or LionsCreed might have. We’re not always going get all the answers.

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