Worlds 2022: Evil Geniuses’ Game Delayed Because of "Crocs"
Inspired calls the rule “pretty weird”
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After a long day filled with COVID-19 false positives, isolation booths, and game delays on 29th September, Day 2 of Worlds 2022 started without a hitch. However, fans and the casters panicked a little when the second match featuring Evil Geniuses (EG) and LOUD was delayed. However, the game delay was for one of the strangest reasons. The English casters on the broadcast revealed that the game had not started since Evil Geniuses’ mid-laner Joseph "Jojopyun" Pyun wore crocs on stage.
Game delayed for inappropriate footwear
One of the casters asked, “So we have a small delay on stage. Don’t panic, just a small delay. Do you know why?” The other caster confidently guessed that jojopyun had spilled water on the table. “Very close. You identified the correct player. Inappropriate footwear! He’s wearing his crocs.”
The official rulebook for Worlds 2022 by Riot Games states the following under Rule 4.5: Player and Coach Apparel: “Players must wear pants and closed-toe shoes, as well as visible team-branded apparel, on their upper body, during the entirety of any WCE [Worlds Championship Event] or appearance.” It also noted that WCE officials will have final approval over all apparel.
As a result, crocs, which do not comply with the rules had to be removed by jojopyun, who was then presented with a pair of shoes on stage by the referees. However, multiple EG players have been reportedly spotted wearing crocs before at League of Legends Champions Series (LCS) events, including press conferences.
The game resumed after the initial pause and despite facing a few more technical pauses, Evil Geniuses won the match against LOUD in a dominant fashion. On Day 2 of Worlds 2022, Evil Geniuses won both its matchups and is currently second in its group with a scoreline of 2-1, just behind Fnatic.
Inspired talks about the crocs in the post-game interview
In the post-game interview with Laure Valée, EG’s jungler Kacper "Inspired" Słoma talked about jojopyun wearing crocs. He said a Riot referee came on stage and asked jojopyun to change into a different pair of shoes. “Yeah basically Riot forbid us from wearing crocs on stage. They said that we can play either with shoes or without shoes, but not with crocs. I don’t know what their rule is but we have to follow it. That was a bit annoying but I guess that’s the rule. Pretty weird rule if you ask me.”
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