Team Spirit want ESL to revoke Azure Ray’s ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 spot, but why?
ESL One Kuala Lumpur starts on December 11, with 12 teams vying for a share of the $1 million prize pool. Team Spirit, the current International champions, pulled out of the event and are urging organizers to remove Azure Ray from ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.
Why Team Spirit Want Azure Ray Kicked Out of ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023?
Team Spirit’s manager, Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov, strongly opposed Azure Ray’s retention of the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 invitation despite making three player changes. Korb3n emphasized via his Telegram channel that, according to the rules, Azure Ray’s roster moves should lead to the team’s disqualification.
Credit: AFK Gaming
“I’m waiting for ESL to officially announce Azure Ray’s disqualification from the Malaysian tournament. Rules do not allow three stand-ins,” he wrote on Telegram.
“Don’t tell me these are not stand-ins but the new roster players. The current reality is, without transfer windows, I can change the roster every two weeks, officially. And I don’t see ESL’s transfer windows in the rules, only fines for stand-ins.”
Aldar “Jamba” Dzhambinov, who formerly managed 9Pandas, sided with Spirit’s complaint but expressed skepticism, implying that Azure Ray might not face any consequences.
“There will be no such announcement: Sometimes, the official invitation letter information stands above the rules (for example, the Alliance discord coach case). So, just sit and watch how teams get invites and then assemble new lineups from scratch.”
Azure Ray’s Major Roster Overhaul Post-TI12: What Does The ESL Rulebook Say?
When Xu “fy” Linsen, Lu “Somnus” Yao, and Yang “Chalice” Shenyi decided to step away from the competitive scene temporarily, Azure Ray brought in Zhao “XinQ” Zixing, Guo “Xm” Hongcheng and Lin “Xxs” Jing. According to current rules, such a massive squad overhaul is only allowed under certain circumstances. Here is what the ESL rulebook says:
“If a license holder loses over 40% of their starting lineup, the administration can review the license and, if the license holder cannot convince ESL about their ability to continue in the event on a similar level of play, possibly withdraw it. This scenario only applies after invites have been issued and accepted for a given event; otherwise, the rules governing the world rankings apply with regards to license assignment.”