Overwatch League team calls out league over violating its own rules
The Overwatch League (OWL) has found itself under fire for allegedly breaking its own rules, leading to a potentially contentious seeding process for the Midseason Madness - one of the largest international events in the competitive Overwatch calendar.
Grey Zhang, Head of the Hangzhou Spark, has publicly accused the league of not adhering to the rules signed by the players prior to the start of the season. This has led to claims of unprofessionalism and disrespect in the handling of the situation by the League's management.
Which rule was allegedly violated?
In a series of tweets, Grey outlined a detailed timeline of the contentious issue. Players were given a rule set before the season started on April 22, with the requirement to sign it by April 25 in order to participate in the Overwatch League that season.
The signed rules stipulated that the second seed for Midseason Madness would go to the team victorious in bracket 1 of the Easter qualification round. However, discrepancies surfaced during the qualification stage for Midseason in APAC, where the brackets were denoted as A and B. This didn't match the outlined description.
Grey's Hangzhou Spark, the Guangzhou Charge, and the Seoul Dynasty were placed in Group A, with the Seoul Infernal, Dallas Fuel, and Shanghai Dragons in Group B.
When the qualification ended, Hangzhou won Group A and Seoul Infernal won Group B, but Infernal was given the first seed out of the APAC teams due to their superior qualification stage record. Grey argued this was against the rules the players had signed and his team had once again received clarification just days prior.
The decision is not just a matter of prestige, as the standing impacts the team's journey through the Midseason Madness knockout stage, requiring one less match to win. The placement also has direct implications on seeding for the season playoffs.
OWL's solution isn't received well
Sean Miller, Head of the Overwatch League, responded by acknowledging an "administration error," stating that the intent was always to seed the team with the best overall performance during the Spring Stage as the first seed.
He also mentioned that the League had "worked closely with impacted teams and apologized for the confusion this has brought."
To make amends, the League increased the prize pool for the 5th and 6th place. However, this move was met with further criticism from Grey, who called it "disrespectful" and "an insult to a team that has been heavily investing and actively competing in Overwatch League."
The Hangzhou Spark has left open the possibility of pursuing "legal and/or arbitration means" to challenge the decision, though they have dismissed the idea of a boycott.
It adds more pressure to an already strained Overwatch League. With a sparse sponsor landscape, the League faces a challenging situation, especially in the Chinese region, where the game is currently unplayable.
This latest controversy is an unwelcome addition to the League's mounting problems. Just last week, the Toronto Defiant announced that the Overwatch League had waived its remaining franchise fees.
