Sentinels Valorant player Zachary ‘zekken’ Patrone took to social media to criticize VCT EMEA analyst Jakub ‘Lothar’ Szygulski for labeling G2’s Abyss strategy as “extremely disrespectful to the sport.”
At Valorant Champions 2024, G2 Esports utilized a unique tactic on Abyss during their match against Leviatán. In Round 14, the team deliberately leaped off the side of the map to prevent their opponents from earning money and points towards their ultimates.
Lothar found the idea to be disrespectful and somewhat underdeveloped, even though it makes tactical sense and brings economic benefits to G2.
According to a social media post by the individual, this behavior is highly disrespectful towards the sport, viewers, opponents, and tournament organizers. It should not be tolerated by RIOT, as it undermines the integrity of the game.
“If you were intent on trolling this round, G2, you should have done it correctly by jumping off after your opponents planted. This would have wasted more time and forced them to use their utilities.”
Zekken, one of the many individuals who criticized the take, responded to the analyst and questioned whether it was considered disrespectful to the sport to be eliminated by the spike.
is dying to spike also disrespectful to the sport
— z (@zekkenVAL) August 15, 2024
Purposefully sacrificing oneself to the spike explosion is a frequently used economic tactic. By being eliminated, players can earn money in the subsequent round, while also preventing the enemy team from earning money by not securing a kill.
Lothar argued that the scenario was not a fair comparison to G2’s actions, as planting the spike signifies that the round has been played out as intended.
In response, Zekken highlighted that G2’s actions prevented Leviatán from obtaining additional funds by not allowing them to successfully plant the spike. Furthermore, Leviatán was unable to collect any ultimate orbs scattered throughout the map during the round.
“I understand that it may not be the most exciting strategy, but jumping off the map prevents the other team from gaining any orbs and can be done in just 5 seconds,”zekken explained.
“I fail to understand what the issue is.”
Despite the North American squad’s loss in that map and the series, the G2 Esports strategy appears to be favored by social media users, who disagree with the hot take.
The topic of strategic deaths and their permissibility has been a long-standing debate in the realm of FPS esports. The discussion originated in Counter-Strike with NAVI’s intentional death by their own Molotov cocktail during a 2017 match against Team Liquid.
In 2019, ESL made the decision to prohibit the strategy of intentionally falling off the map Vertigo in order to prevent players from utilizing it during matches in the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Despite speculation, Riot Games has not officially addressed whether G2 violated any rules with their strategy. Additionally, the players of G2 have not disclosed if they have faced any consequences for deliberately throwing a round during the world championships.
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