Thorin Clashes with ESL over Rio Major & B-Site Qualifier Dates

Cover & Thumbnail Image Courtesy: ESL Gaming - Helena Kristiansson

In the already on-going feud between ESL and FACEIT, a bit more action seems to have added fuel to this fire, as both the organizations face heavy criticism for a scheduling conflict between Open Qualifiers for the Rio Major and B-Site Open Qualifiers.

Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro was amongst the first professional players to speak on the issue, saying that “Don't let this distract you from the fact that b-site put their qualifiers the same days as the major qualifiers.”

And his accusations are indeed true. Open Qualifiers for the Majors are set to take place from 31^st Jan - 16^th Feb, while those for B-Site will be taking place from 5^th - 16^th Feb. Though not all the qualifiers are affected, a majority of them will be, with the teams having to decide between the two.

Duncan “Thorin” Shields being associated with the B-Site project was quick to react to Zellsis’ comment saying that “This is factually incorrect. We had our dates out before and ESL went over the top of them.” while also adding that “We are changing the dates and everyone will be informed ASAP.”

Thorin went on to accuse ESL of ‘coming over the top’ and create a scheduling rift as B-Site were already locked in.

Ulrich Schulze - Senior Vice President of Product for ESL joined in on the banter to share a screenshot from a ‘global coordination document’ which is used by all TO’s for scheduling tournaments, saying that “Rio qualifiers have been in there for months. The line below ours (which is FaceIT) is empty. B-Site qualifiers are nowhere in this document.”

Image Credit: Ulrich Schulze

It is tough to say who was at fault, but having a conflict with the Major qualifiers is certainly a big problem. Thorin has stated that B-Site will be changing its dates, so stay tuned for the updated open qualifier schedule.

Already they are having a scheduling conflict with the ESL Pro League Season 11, among other problems. Though some teams and its complete talent lineup has been announced, B Site has still not officially announced the league itself.