The Asia RMR controversy explained

In a storm of controversy ignited by PGL's decision to revoke the invitation of 15 Average Gaming to the Asia RMR, due to them not being able to assemble a valid lineup for the RMR event, the CS community burst with outrage. Dust2 India reached out directly to 15 Average seeking clarity on the unfolding drama.

ENNY-K, the community manager for 15 Average, revealed the team's version of events. Initially, their roster submission to PGL included Joker, Qweall, Lambdacore, Ruskovvvv, Maxwell, with sharkyyy as substitute and Fatih as their coach. However, post Open Qualifiers, Maxwell was replaced by sharkyyy in the active lineup, prompting a request to modify their roster accordingly. PGL, however, refused to accommodate the change, stating that rules prohibit roster changes after registration.

Discrepancies emerged between PGL's timeline, which they made public in a post on X, and 15 Average's account. While PGL claimed notification of the roster alteration on February 20, evidence provided by ENNY-K contradicted this, with documentation showing the update was communicated as early as January 31.

One of the players from 15 Average, Qweall, hails from Ukraine, and due to Visa constraints in the country, needed additional time to cross the border. This information was allegedly disclosed to PGL on February 3 according to their statement but according to ENNY-K it was flagged in an email dated January 30, 2024.

Subsequently, the four players and their manager onboarded their flight to China for the RMR. According to ENNY-K, it was during this journey that Aneko and Bianca from PGL reached out to their manager via WhatsApp, imposing deadlines for the submission of flight tickets or a video call with Qweall to confirm his departure from the border.

The manager requested 15 hours, as that was the estimated time required for Qweall to cross the border. In response, Aneko demanded an image of his flight ticket, insisting on proof to validate 15 Average's claims while expressing an inability to wait 15 hours. The manager claimed possession of the ticket but cited the inability to access it due to Emirates' Wi-Fi restrictions. He further committed to providing the evidence upon landing in Dubai in 1 hour and 30 minutes before proceeding to Shanghai.

Qweall's flight was promised to be booked as soon as he crossed the border, as it says in the screenshots. Since PGL kept asking for updates and Qweall informed us he could cross, we planned to book his flight as soon as we landed in 1 hour and 30 minutes. However, upon landing, Qweall encountered more complications at the border, resulting in the cancellation of his flight booking.

However, after failing to meet that deadline, PGL persisted in imposing further deadlines. After nearly 14 hours since the initial promise, they revoked 15 Average's invitation to the RMR. The team expressed dismay at the lack of sufficient time granted to address their request, particularly given their lengthy 20-hour flight.

Honestly I’m just disappointed that there was no help regarding our situation. Despite our efforts to participate, it seemed like we were just people who had somehow qualified. We worked for months to achieve this, and that was taken into consideration at all.

We also engaged in conversation with Raizo, the communication coordinator, who highlighted the sacrifices made by the team leading up to the tournament.

The situation could have been avoided easily if they just let us use our coach which was done in multiple Majors/RMRs before this one and even in big events incase our Ukrainian player could not make it, and there is still a huge chance he would make within these upcoming few days since there's good signs he would be able to leave through the border.
But they chose to ignore all the hard work our team over the last few months and the fact that we prioritized to play the RMR abandoning a few tournaments where already have qualified to.

Coaches have historically stood in for players in Majors, as seen with threat replacing pyth at MLG Major Columbus 2016, and peacemaker subbing in for BnTeT at ELEAGUE Major Boston 2017. However, it wasn't until 2021 with the introduction of RMRs that a designated substitute spot was formally established. Here is the current iteration of rules surrounding it.

15 Average were replaced by Twisted Minds for the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 Asia RMR and Twisted Minds fell to Lynn Vision in their opening game before going down to JiJieHao in the lower bracket run which eliminated them from the Asia RMR.