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Flashpoint organizers have announced that Ninjas in Pyjamas and Anonymo Esports will replay the controversial Flashpoint 3 Mirage map. The teams will square off on Tuesday, May 18, for a spot in the second stage of the competition.
Anonymo Esports’ Controversial Victory
Anonymo and Ninjas in Pyjamas met on Saturday, May 14, in the opening round of Flashpoint Season 3. The match ended in a shock 2-1 victory for the Polish side, but the upset wasn’t the main thing the esports community were interested in.
NiP won the first map of the series with relative ease (16-3 on Overpass) but ended up suffering a reverse sweep. Anonymous close out the upset with 16-13 on Nuke and 19-17 on Mirage.
Upset wins like that are nothing unusual in the online Counter-Strike: Global Offensive era. What was shocking, however, were the circumstances NiP supposedly had to play in.
NiP’s CEO Hicham Chahine revealed that his players had to play with significant packet loss, claiming it made the game “unplayable.” More information started to surface shortly after the game, with NiP players claiming they had to play with a 30%-40% packet loss on Nuke and Mirage.
This started a massive online drama with NiP demanding Flashpoint to allow them to replay the match.
The organizers, however, were very hesitant to allow that to happen, which only added fuel to the fire.
The CS:GO community is divided into two. Some supported NiP and their efforts to replay the game, while some sided with Anonymo Esports as the rightful victors.
Over the days, the situation escalated to the point where Flashpoint had to step in and find a solution.
Flashpoint (Try To) Calm Down Outraged Community
Flashpoint eventually decided to explore the possibility of replaying the controversial series.
The organizers said that they gave Anonymo a choice between replaying the whole series or only the decider match. That was because NiP submitted their first official request to stop the series only after Nuke.
Flashpoint also added that they spoke to both sides and the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA), which helped them come out with a resolution.
As revealed by Flashpoint, the sides have agreed to replay the Mirage map on Tuesday, May 18 at 21:00 CEST. This is to accept NiP’s request to play under fair conditions and honor Anonymo’s victory on Nuke.
Although the match could have been replayed sooner, Flashpoint decided to postpone it until Tuesday. That is to give the teams enough time to prepare for the rematch and calm the community’s nerves.
“We understand that not everyone will agree with the final outcome regardless, but at every stage of this process, we’ve focused on making the decision we thought was best to provide a fair and competitive environment within a framework of constraints, all of which are defined within the official rulebook,” read the announcement.
“We also understand that the final decision and the rules that determined the overall outcome of our decision process may seem misaligned with the general sentiment and opinion of many professional players and community members, in particular about the possibility of replaying a match, no matter the reason.”
Due to the unpleasant situation resulting from server issues, Flashpoint decided to release an updated version of the rulebook. It is said to be shared with the teams later on Tuesday, allowing Flashpoint to be better equipped to deal with similar problems in the future.
Flashpoint said that the new rulebook would “better define the types of issues that will be taken into consideration” while clarifying how rules should be applied in such situations.
In addition, all teams will have access to the game servers one day in advance to check whether they’re experiencing any issues.
Ninjas in Pyjamas and Anonymo Esports face off on Tuesday, May 18
The winner of the rematch will advance into the second round of Flashpoint Season 3 upper bracket, whereas the loser will get to face off against HYENAS in the lower bracket on Wednesday, May 19.
Odds for Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Anonymo Esports Match
Odds courtesy of BetOnline Sportsbook:
- NiP -263
- Anonymo +214
- NiP -4.5 Rounds +102
- Anonymo +4.5 Rounds -133
- Over 26.5 Rounds -102
- Under 26.5 Rounds -127
NiP are priced as big favorites for the rematch, which makes a lot of sense. They were the dominant side in the first meeting and would have arguably won 2-0 had not for the internet problems.
Anonymo Esports have, however, proven that they can compete with top teams in the scene before. While they’re expected to lose, the Poles have the tools needed to keep this one close and make NiP work wor the W.