The ongoing Smite Pro League has been marred by unsportsmanlike conduct in Team EnVyUs' match against SoaR. Hi-Rez has been quick to issue sanctions, but the atmosphere has soured, with some viewers branding it "the worst match in SPL history" and two EnVyUs players departing the team.
After a poor first round, EnVyUs opened the second with a misjudged gimmick play, rushing SoaR at level one. EnVyUs was obliterated, with SoaR's Baskin dispatching four players at once and polishing off those who returned suicidally.
EnVyUs conceded at once, ending the game less than two minutes in. Casters and viewers alike were left appalled by the pro-level ragequit. If you're not a Smite player, watch the VoD from 2:52 to understand the gravity of the faux pas.
Forfeiting before the 10-minute mark is forbidden by competition rules. So is throwing the game, or not playing to win. The sense among viewers was that EnVyUs could not have reasonably expected its ploy to succeed and certainly could have limited its losses when the play went wrong.
Hi-Rez has fined each EnVyUs player $500 and ordered the forfeiture of any prize money from the match. The damage to EnVyUs is more than financial, however: players Omega and Snoopy have left the team, the former citing a lack of drive and the latter reportedly not enjoying the game.
Issues like those would have made themselves known sooner or later, but it's a pity they had to spoil a match so thoroughly.
