Photos by: MLG.com, Kevin Chang/TEAMLIQUID.NET, Zhang Jingna/BLOG.ZHANGJINGNA.COM
The drama that arose around the Blizzard Cup match between Naniwa and NesTea yesterday escalated to the Swede being stripped of his Code S spot for January. In addition, EG's Idra and Gama Bears' SEn have received Code S spots themselves for that very same tournament.
Naniwa sent the eSports community in an uproar with his group stage game against NesTea in day two of Blizzard Cup. With both players having no chance of advancing and the match being basically without much meaning, Naniwa six-probe rushed the zerg to play the shortest match in GSL history.
This split StarCraft 2 fans into two polarities depending on if they thought Johan's attitude was unprofessional and disrespectful and those that believed that this is really no big deal. As of today, it is clear how the GSL management considers Naniwa's act.
On today's Blizzard Cup stream, GSL director Mr. Chae announced that Naniwa's Code S spot for January, which he won with finishing second at MLG Providence, is being revoked. Mr. Chae explained his decision by saying Code S seeds are "for a professional minded pro-gamer not for an amateur prize money hunter". Apparently, this comes as a result from a rule in GSL's codex stating that "During a match, a player shall not offend the opponent or audience with abusive behaviours".
Following his yesterday performance, Naniwa wrote on twitter the following:
This doesn't mean Naniwa is permabanned from the GSL but simply that he will not be competing in the next season.
In related news, two foreign zergs will make appearance at Code S January. According to MyEG.net, their own Greg "Idra" Fields will fill in Naniwa's spot. Idra is no stranger to the GSL and being a regular contender for five seasons in a row until leaving Korea in March, his best result being a top eight finish in January 2011.
In addition, it was announced via FaceBook that Taiwanese zerg of team Gama Bears Yang "Sen" Chia Cheng have also been granted a Code S spot. SEn had attended a total of two GSL tournaments - a top 32 in GSL Open 3 and a top 16 at the GSL World Champion. His most recent achievements are a third place at the NASL season 2 and before that another third place at BlizzCon Global Invitational.
Fans will be able to see those two foreigners in action come January 9th 2012.
Links
MyEG.com - Source
Facebook.com - Source
