A scandal broke out at Stake Pulse Beat III due to trash talk between Fnatic and HOTU
After the match between Fnatic and HOTU at the Stake Pulse Beat III VRS Championship, a scandal erupted due to players hurling insults at each other after rounds.
In recordings of the match, HOTU players can be clearly heard using profanity toward their opponents and complaining about their use of the Russian language. However, the conflict was not one-sided: Fnatic captain Rodion “fear” Smyk later confirmed that he had initiated the trash talk in response.
Fnatic captain Rodion “fear” Smyk shared details of the post-match conversation:
...> Rustem approached us after the game, and we talked about the comments. He assured me that they hadn’t used any offensive language. I also apologized, since I was the one who started the trash talk in the first place. But you have to understand that emotions were running high. Everyone wants to qualify for the World Championship. It was a crucial match, and everything was intense.
A tournament administrator also came to us and said he’d received a request to investigate the situation. As far as I understand, he’ll be assisted by the second referee, Stefan, who’s also from Ukraine. They’ll simply analyze the TeamSpeak logs and get to the bottom of it. According to the rules, such violations are punishable by either a fine or disqualification from the current or future championships. That’s the news—thanks, everyone. Now let’s focus on the playoffs. Have a good evening or night. It’s already nighttime; I’m heading to the hotel.
The quotes below are reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
HOTU coach Rustem “mou” Telepov outlined the opposing side’s position:
We didn’t show up until 15 minutes after the game because we were analyzing our mistakes. Ask Fir the same thing. I’ll vouch for my teammates—no one got personal or insulted anyone; there was some trash talk, for which people apologized, and that’s all. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill—everyone on the team is a good guy; no one meant to offend anyone. There were in-game moments, it was a hard-fought match, and everyone was fired up. The strongest team won—well done, Fnatic—and we wish them continued success in the tournament!
BC.Game Esports sniper Alexander “s1mple” Kostylev reacted to the incident as follows:
“What, are you guys speaking Russian?”
Ahah*** [He said], got owned, and flew back home
. Come up with some funnier trash talk))
The match took place during the decisive stage of Group C in the group stage of Stake Pulse Beat III. The match ended with a 2–0 victory for Fnatic, as a result of which HOTU concluded their run in the championship, finishing in 9th–12th place and earning $1,500 from the total prize pool.
Photo: Roman Imperium Cup.
