A Rocket League team has been dropped from their organization after allegedly throwing a Rocket League Championship Series match that had huge implications on the league’s playoff picture.
Team Esper first acquired their Rocket League trio towards the end of February 2020 with Australian players Aiden ‘delusioN’ Hendry, Finlay ‘Frenzyy’ Rockach, and Steve ‘SSteve’ Berrospi joining the Oceanic organization.
However, after just 45 days, the lineup was released from the organization on April 5, after accusations started to fly that they threw an all-important matchup in the RLCS, Team Esper quickly announced that they would be letting go of the players.
A huge thanks to our Rocket League players for their hard work this season.
Our time with them has drawn to a close, and we wish them all the best in the future.
Hope to return shortly! pic.twitter.com/7zPIlrZrY1
— Team Esper (@TeamEsper) April 5, 2020
In the best-of-5 match against Fury, Team Esper needed to win map four to earn their playoff spot but, after losing it, they were no longer eligible to qualify. Instead, if Fury won the final map, they would be going to playoffs, while if Esper won then the final playoff spot would go to Renegades.
It was clear from the offset that something strange was occurring, which the casters were quick to point out after the very first kickoff of game 5.
“It might be that Team Esper just don’t want Renegades in playoffs,” one said after the Esper players appear to avoid the ball. “It’s looking like they’re giving the win to Fury, I’m not sure if this is allowed. Someone’s going to have to have words with them.”
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The match further featured some questionable plays, including an own goal from captain delusioN, who has been a Rocket League pro for around two years.
After a Reddit post was made about the ordeal, a representative of developer Psyonix commented on the post explaining that they were going to do a full investigation into the matter and that they will communicate their decision once they “have a full understanding of what happened.”
Psyonix have not yet announced what action they will be taking, be it against the organization or the players themselves.
While Esper releasing the players seems to be an attempt to distance themselves from the situation, they too will be cautiously awaiting the developer’s verdict.