Fifa esports final hit by penalty shootout row
Organisers of the Fifa esports World Cup have denied “ruining” the grand final of the event.
A row broke out after Mark Zakhary – aka Mark11 – lost to Manuel “Bachoore” Bachoore on penalties.
Mark’s team Futwiz claim he tried to stop play because his controller inputs were visible on a big screen, revealing where he was aiming.
Organiser FIFAe said it’s reviewed footage and found “no competitive advantage” was gained during the match.
Competition game Fifa 23 has an option to enable input overlay – which displays a player’s controller on-screen.
This meant Mark’s button presses were also shown around the arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fans and pundits have pointed out that, even if his opponent didn’t see his screen, Mark would have been distracted by his attempts to alert referees to the situation.
They didn’t stop the competition and he lost to Team Gullit player Bachoore 4-5.
The winner took home a $300,000 (£232,000) first prize, while Mark received $150,000 (£116,000) for second place.
Mark’s team Futwiz hit out at organisers, saying he “raised this issue 3 times before penalties started and nothing was done”.
It accused them of disregarding their own rules and leaving “the biggest final of the year completely ruined by unnecessary circumstances”.
They added that they had no issue with Bachoore and Team Gullit, saying: “This is not their fault.”
British esports pro Tom Leese tweeted to say the episode was “the lowest day in FIFA esports history” and a “disgrace”.
He later added he didn’t believe Bachoore had cheated or used it to his advantage.
In a statement, FIFAe said players are told their input overlay might be broadcast if they choose to enable it.
It said “the same situation occurred during the semi-finals” and no further concerns were raised before the final.
“After thorough review of the footage, we can also confirm that no player received a competitive advantage as the opposite team only watched their own screen,” it added.
According to the competition rules, games can only be paused if technical issues occur – which did not take place during the penalty shootout.
Bachoore has not commented so far, but Team Gullit’s talent boss Renzo Oemrawsingh retweeted FIFAe’s official statement.
The event is not linked to developer EA, which ended its deal with Fifa last year.
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