The 100 Thieves VALORANT roster opened their Masters run with a 2-0 victory over Immortals in the first round. However, 100 Thieves could not retain its momentum throughout the event, losing the next two series to Sentinels and Gen.G Esports en route to a 5th/6th place finish.
100 Thieves received a fine for delaying its match against Immortals. (Image via 100 Thieves)
But before its first series with Immortals, the team had some trouble with VCT tournament officials. According to an official ruling from Riot Games, 100 Thieves and tournament officials got into a dispute about which server to play on. Unhappy with the officials’ decision, 100T delayed the start of the match by entering the in-game training range instead of the server.
Tournament officials and 100T VALORANT coach Hector “FrosT” Rosario hopped in a Discord call to continue the conversation. According to Riot, FrosT reportedly “refused to accept the decision from the Tournament Official and treated the Tournament Official in an unprofessional manner.” When officials informed him that 100T might be disqualified, he reportedly “threatened to leverage players’ social media platforms against the Tournament Organizer and Riot Games as a response.”
After a Riot employee joined the call, the match finally started after a one-hour delay. After reviewing the issue, Riot issued punishments to both 100 Thieves as a whole and coach FrosT. 100 Thieves has been fined $5,000, and FrosT has been placed on probation for the remainder of the 2021 VCT. Any additional infractions by FrosT will result in an “enhanced punishment,” which could include a ban from competition.
100 Thieves have fired back at Riot and the VCT organizers in response. The org put out a statement first, disagreeing with Riot’s decision, pointing out an inconsistency in the ruling, and taking a huge issue with how Riot’s statement characterized the team. They flat out denied the claim about FrosT threatening to use the players social media against them. 100T released video that included four minutes of the conversation, including a heated moment between FrosT and Immortals’ coach.
The 100 Thieves VALORANT roster will return to compete in Phase Two of the VCT. Phase two starts on April 1st with open qualifiers. 100T earned 20 VCT points from their finish at Masters One.
