Tyler ‘FeLo’ Johnson, a veteran of Call of Duty esports and player for Carolina Royal Ravens, shared on a live stream how he received a penalty at the Esports World Cup for performing a teabag on his opponent.
The Esports World Cup’s Call of Duty segment concluded with Atlanta FaZe as the victors, following three days of intense competition. This third-party tournament was a notable exception in the scene as it was not organized by Activision Blizzard, resulting in a unique set of rules.
FeLo recounted in a livestream, which can be found at the link here, his experience at the event and how the altered ruleset resulted in him receiving a penalty during the match.
The experienced player, who had been in the game for 10 years, stated that he immediately went towards his opponent’s body after winning a round against the Las Vegas Legion and proceeded to teabag him as a way to emphasize his superior gameplay.
FeLo recounted, “Following the map, the ref tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘I just wanted to let you know that the higher-ups have given you two strikes for that map.’ I was taken aback and responded, ‘Two strikes? That’s not good.’”
FeLo did not provide further details on the potential consequences of his team receiving three strikes. Despite this, his team ultimately emerged victorious in that particular match, securing a spot in the top eight of the tournament.
The Call of Duty esports scene has a reputation for getting rowdy, with players frequently engaging in trash-talk both during and after matches.
Despite this, the leadership of the CDL did not align with the culture of the Esports World Cup, which is known for its practice of trash talking. The tournament, which showcases more than twelve popular esports, is organized by ESL and financially supported by the government of Saudi Arabia.
In recent years, the act of crouching on an enemy’s body during competitive esports matches, commonly known as “teabagging,”has sparked controversy as some players have faced bans or penalties for engaging in this behavior during live games.
Some developers and organizers have deemed the in-game taunt as toxic, as they aim for matches to be played cleanly and for the only source of drama to be the scoreboard.
Overall, the general sentiment among professionals and the community has been in favor of allowing teabagging to continue, but there comes a point where the risk of receiving a fine or losing a match outweighs the benefits.
At the time of writing, the Esports World Cup has not issued a response to FeLo’s claim.
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