Image courtesy of ESLGaming

Both SK and Team X have been disqualified due to their mid-reason organization changes.

Despite having secured fairly respectable rankings in Group A and C, SK Gaming (former Luminosity roster) and Team X (former SK Gaming roster) have both been disqualified from ELEAGUE. ELEAGUE's Commissioner Min-Sik Ko posted today on Twitter that both teams have been disqualified "due to roster changes that do not comply with @EL rules".

However, when looking at the official ELEAGUE rulebook, I couldn't find any rule which prohibited roster changes. The only rules which mention rosters are rule #14 which states, "All teams must submit their five (5) man roster, including two (2) subs, by May 18th, 5:00pm EST", #15, "Teams will be allowed to use a sub to replace another player twice per season, but replacements must be declared before plane tickets are issued" and #16, "Team rosters must be complete before plane tickets are issued. If a team decides to change the roster after travel arrangements have been issued, any additional costs must be covered by the respective team". None of those rules specifically mention or prohibit the trade of rosters between organizations mid-tournament. This announcement also comes from the same person who on the 30th of May had the following to say about the roster change:

Needless to say, players from both teams are unhappy with the decision, with FalleN and Friis taking to Twitter to express their feelings.

Several teams now participating in ELEAGUE: Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, Echo Fox, NRG eSports, OpTic Gaming, Team Liquid, and Team SoloMid, have signed a petition declaring that if ELEAGUE were to pardon LG and give their spot to SK, it would be breaking the rules and that the teams which signed the petition would refuse to participate. They reportedly claim that the spot in the tournament belongs to the organization, not the players, and that since LG has no players anymore, they would need to be disqualified. Giving LG's spot to SK, who were disqualified in week three, would give SK a second chance in ELEAGUE. The petition also states "an inherent conflict of interest" within the ELeague leadership, citing that Commisioner Ko was a former employee of SK Gaming and what the petition calls a "well-known SK loyalist."

The NA stars, Cloud9, have been moved from the last-chance bracket straight to the playoffs as a direct result,as well as Renegades and Gambit Gaming having both earned spots in the last-chance bracket. No official statement has been posted by ELEAGUE or the teams and a final decision remains to be made.

Headline image courtesy of www.sk-gaming.com

SK Gaming and Team X disqualified from ELEAGUE