Fortnite team kicked out of Champion Series over toxic tweet aimed at Fortnite creative lead

(Image credit: Epic Games)

A three-player team has been disqualified from the Fortnite Champion Series, losing a shot at a share of a $3 million prize pool, after one of them directed the message "like literally fucking k!ll your$self" at Epic Games chief creative officer Donald Mustard on Twitter. The tweet, and the player's entire Twitter account, have since been deleted, but an image of the comment was captured by Dexerto.

One of Wrigley's teammates, Dictate, shared the notification he received of his team's disqualification from the tournament, which says that the team violated rule 8.1.2: "Players must be respectful of other players, Event Administrators, spectators, and sponsors (as applicable)."

IS THIS A FUCKING JOKE????????? pic.twitter.com/91N9NrTDZKMarch 14, 2021

It's also arguable that Wrigley's tweet violates at least two other FNCS regulations regarding "toxic behavior":

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8.1.1 - All players must conduct themselves in a way that is at all times consistent with (a) the Code of Conduct in this Section 8 (“Code of Conduct”) and (b) the general principles of personal integrity, honesty, and good sportsmanship.
8.1.3 - Players shall not behave in a manner (a) which violates these Rules, (b) which is disruptive, unsafe or destructive, or (c) which is otherwise harmful to the enjoyment of the Game by other users as intended by Epic (as decided by Epic). In particular, players shall not engage in harassing or disrespectful conduct, use of abusive or offensive language, game sabotage, spamming, social engineering, scamming, or any unlawful activity (“Toxic Behavior”).

The third member of the trio, Userz, told Polygon that Wrigley's outburst came after he was sniped in the first round of the FNCS grand finals, and said that neither he nor Dictate were aware of the tweet until the next day. Despite that, Wrigley's teammates were ejected from the competition without the opportunity to find a different third.

I wish we would be able to have an Opportunity for an emergency sub what wrigley did was completely out of our control and we put endless amount of time into the game for a chance at life changing money if you guys could tag @FNCompetitive to get their attention i’d love you https://t.co/lgU5897Zz2March 14, 2021

The real kicker is that even if Wrigley, Dictate, and Userz had come in last place in the tournament, they'd have still made money: All teams who make the finals of the Chapter 2 Season 5 FNCS in the NA East division are guaranteed at least $1,800, which works out to $600 per player. Being disqualified means they leave empty-handed.

just played this whole season for $0 oh my fucking godMarch 14, 2021

I've reached out to Epic to ask if there's any chance of reinstatement for Dictate and Userz, and will update if I receive a reply.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.