Epic face controversy for DQing 'screen watching' player at Fortnite World Cup

During the Solos portion of the Fortnite World Cup, Russian player Mark ‘letw1k3’ Danilov was disqualified after he was accused of screen watching. His ejection from the game now has some questioning Epic’s handling of the rules.

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There were a lot of stand out moments in the first ever Fortnite World Cup. From 16-year old Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf taking home the $3 million dollar Solo portion prize, to the heartwarming moment when Thiago ’King’ Lapp celebrated with his father after winning $900k.

However, one moment is attracting attention for all the wrong reasons, as people are questioning the disqualification of a player in Round 6 of the Solo competition.

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Why was letw1k3 banned?

An audience member caught the moment that the Russian pro player was disqualified from the competition on video. In the clip, he is shown quickly glancing up for a second before resuming play. 

• Read More: Fortnite World Cup champion outearns Tiger Woods

The 13-year old player immediately enters a state of shock after realizing he’s been disqualified from the competition. Pro team Kungarna’s CEO ‘MOETORIOUS’ tweeted the clip of the event, outraged at what happened.

“.@letw1k3 gets disqualified midway through the last game for allegedly looking at big screen.” he said.

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Why was letw1k3 looking up?

During an interview with TheFortniteGuy, letw1k3 told the YouTuber that during game six he heard a slam on the desk next to him and instinctually looked over. Unfortunately, Epic employees saw and disqualified him.

• Read More: Fortnite World Cup duo Clix and Sceptic trade jabs

Among other difficulties, the Russian pro also said that he was given the wrong keyboard from the people running the tournament which caused him to get flustered.

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Epic Games responded

According to Polygon, Epic reacted to the backlash and told the publication: “After multiple warnings to the player, a penalty was assessed and he was removed from the match,” a representative said. “He was not disqualified and will not be fined.”

Regardless of what the truth may be, some fans were upset as they felt the disqualification was uncalled for. Letw1k3 himself even retweeted a user that said: “@XXiFtv Cheats, banned for two weeks and still is allowed to qualify.@letw1k3 peeks over his screen for a second and gets forfeited for potentially thousands of dollars. Makes sense.”

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Perhaps at the next World Cup, Epic will consider revising the dividers between screens and placement of players, as some feel that there was little room for human error.