Gen.G address “heartbreaking” controller malfunction in CWL Finals loss to eUnited

Popular esports organization Gen.G have released an official statement expressing their disappointment with how an equipment malfunction was handled by referees during their grand finals clash with eUnited at CWL Finals.

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Gen.G battled back through the losers bracket on Sunday, July 21 to secure their place in the Pro League Playoffs grand finals, taking on eUnited who had been runners up at two previous major events.

Despite a dominant showing in their first best-of-five series, which saw Gen.G sweep eUnited 3-0, a controller malfunction for player Chance ‘Maux’ Moncivaez seemingly halted their momentum, with the team crumbling to a 3-0 loss in the final series.

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Frustrations were raised after reporting the issue to a referee during the first Hardpoint map of the second series, the game continued and wasn’t restarted, despite referees forcing a replay in the first series when an eUnited player’s PS4 console suffered an issue.

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Now, Gen.G themselves have issued a statement on Twitter addressing the loss to eUnited, and how the situation was handled by referees and the CWL.

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“There’s never a good time for equipment malfunctions, least of all in the Grand Finals,” the statement reads. “One of our players drew such misfortune yesterday, immediately reporting a problem with his controller to the refs.”

“The ensuing confusion was unfortunate for everyone involved and frankly heartbreaking for our players, who put everything they have into every competition. We stand with them 100% every step of the way. We will share our constructive feedback with the League separately.”

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Activision Blizzard’s Vice President of League and Event Operations Adam Apicella also discussed the issue and why they were unable to restart the match, stating that referees having to replay a match every time a player said they had a problem wasn’t feasible, stating: “We have to create rules that erase subjectivity and minimize the chance for potential cheating.”

The CWL rule book also states that league-provided equipment malfunctioning could lead to a match restart after official review, but that the handbook states that peripherals are “the responsibility of the player,” and they are encouraged to have a spare – something that Maux had with him, but forgot to utilizie. 

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Despite their disappointment, Gen.G made sure to congratulate eUnited on their victory, writing that their first place finish was “well deserved,” and stated they were still immensely proud of their team’s performance.

Gen.G will be back in competitive action in just a few weeks, when they head to Los Angeles, California to compete in the Black Ops 4 season finale, CWL Championships.