Several tournament rules were broken in a VCT Game Changers NA match over the weekend, when Complexity GX3 fielded their male coach as an emergency substitute in a match against Team X.
One of the Complexity GX3 players, Annie “Aniemal” Lee, had overslept and missed the first map. The team went ahead to play the map 4v5, but the game was forfeited midway because the rules prohibit teams from playing with just four players.
After attempts to find a fifth player failed, Complexity was then allowed to play with their coach Johnny “boms” Boms on the second map.
Even though Complexity still ended up losing the second map and the series 2-0, the Game Changers community was quick to point out that the substitution violated several rules. Male players are not allowed in the tournament, regardless of the circumstances.
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VCT Game Changers NA rules stipulate that all members must be ‘women players’
In a statement to Dot Esports, Riot Games admitted that it had made some “oversights” in allowing Complexity to field a male player. In doing so, the team had also broken rules governing substitutions, where any substitute must also be a member of the team’s roster.
“In an effort to avoid competition delays, we made oversights regarding match continuation and emergency substitutions for Game Changers,” the company said.
“We are evaluating our processes surrounding these scenarios. Furthermore, we will work more closely with participating teams to ensure there is no confusion about respective player eligibility.”
After their game against Team X, Complexity GX3 went on to pick up wins against Team Unity X and Divinity, before falling to Immortals and reigning champions Cloud9 White.
It is not clear whether Riot will issue a competitive ruling on the incident, since the team lost the game where the rule violations occurred.
Aniemal has since posted a TwitLonger apologizing for the situation. Her grandmother had passed away a few days ago, and she had only learned about it the night before the match she missed against Team X.
“I understand that this is inexcusable and that I have responsibilities that I must uphold, especially when others are relying on me to just show up. I am sorry, and will not let it happen again,” she wrote.
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