ESL has been forced to take action to stop fans at the IEM Rio Major giving players on stage in-game information. After crowd cheers were reportedly influencing rounds, the tournament organizer has disabled minimaps and x-rays for fans at Riocentro.
Crowd cheers at an esports event are common, and so too rowdy fans calling out information or hyping up a play before those on stage know what’s coming.
However, at the IEM Rio Major 2022, it hit levels beyond what any expected. The Brazilian fans were getting right behind hometown heroes like Imperial and 00Nation, and in doing so were feeding information left and right with loud cheers.
ESL has been forced to take action to stop the crowd influence from impacting competitive integrity, disabling the minimap and x-ray vision for fans at Riocentro.
First reported by Roque Marques of Dust2, the tournament organizer will disable the features in spectator mode until further notice. While it might take away from the viewing experience for some at the venue, it also reduces the amount of information that could potentially be shared.
Fans aren’t too pleased with the decision though, with apparent chants of “bring back the minimap” echoing around the arena.
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Desde ontem, a possibilidade de "sanções" pelos gritos de posição da torcida já eram esperadas nos bastidores. ESL toma a primeira agora, tirando raio-x e minimapa dos telões. #IEM pic.twitter.com/8S41llx5CM
— Roque Marques (@roque_mn) November 2, 2022
ESL confirmed the news in a statement, saying “the integrity of the tournament is the most important thing.
“Over the last few days, there have been incidents which we believe have put this at risk. We felt the need to remove the minimap and x-ray view for the on-site audience to protect the integrity of the tournament.”
It has been criticized by some players though, with Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan of FURIA claiming he and his team didn’t hear any callouts from fans.
The IEM Rio Major has been electric, but it’s not been the best time for Brazilian fans. Both Imperial and 00Nation were knocked out early in Challengers Stage, falling without a single series win.
On the other end of the spectrum, Bad News Eagles and MOUZ are already through to the Legends Stage. Games will continue for Day 3 of the Challengers Stage on November 2.
