Dallas Fuel player Felix 'xQc" Lengyel has been punished for a foul-mouthed tirade against an opponent.
Wednesday 7 March 2018 15:00, UK
Felix "xQc" Lengyel, a tank player for the Dallas Fuel Overwatch League team, has been banned for the remainder of the first stage of the competition after making homophobic remarks on his personal Twitch stream.
The Overwatch League announced a four-game punishment and $2,000 (£1,440) fine but the organisation to which xQc is contracted, Dallas Fuel, imposed its own sanctions, thus extending the suspension for the remainder of the first stage.
The youngster has been reprimanded after launching a foul-mouthed tirade towards Houston Outlaws tank Austin "Muma' Wilmot on his personal Twitch stream following a league loss to the Outlaws.
Muma is one of the League's only openly gay players and the Overwatch League has continued to come down hard on those that breach the code of conduct.
The Fuel released a statement in which it vowed to continue to work with Lengyel to "help him improve as a player who is reflective of the principles of the Dallas Fuel organisation, his team-mates, and of the Overwatch League".
It added "no one wants to see Felix succeed more than we do. It is our hope that he can return to the team with the passion, competitiveness and focus that it takes to play in the Overwatch League". The suspension means Lengyel will return to league play at the end of February at the earliest.
The Dallas Fuel is currently propping up the league table having failed to win a single match of its first four. The only other team yet to have recorded a victory is the Shanghai Dragons, which also boasts an undesirable 0-4 record after the first two weeks of the inaugural season.
The Overwatch League is, to date, esports' largest franchise league. Investors paid as much as 20 million dollars (£14.4m) for a spot in Blizzard's new league and as such players and teams are required to operate under a strict code of conduct. It is of no real surprise that both the Overwatch League and Dallas Fuel sanctioned xQc accordingly.
