TheOhioBrothers Accused of Piloting in NABA Invitational Match Against BTK

The recent match between TheOhioBrothers (TOB) and BloodThirstyKings (BTK) in the North America Battle Arena (NABA) Invitational Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Tournament has been marred with allegations of unfair piloting. The tournament organizers took to the official Discord server to shed light on the situation and clarify the circumstances surrounding the remade Game 1. As per the NABA Invitational MLBB regulations, TOB made unauthorized additions to its roster without informing the organizers. Despite explicit inquiries made by the organizers prior to the match, TOB initially denied such modifications until the conclusion of the first game against BTK. At that point, the situation escalated, prompting TOB to finally acknowledge its inclusion of additional players.

TOB accused of unfair piloting during match against BTK in NABA Invitational

The tournament organizers of the NABA Invitaional event disclosed that TOB introduced two new members to their roster at the last minute, without prior notification. Despite persistent inquiries made by the organizers regarding any potential roster updates for over 24 hours, TOB had initially denied making any changes.

"The Ohio Brothers (TOB) invited two new members to the lobby at the last minute. I had been asking them for over 24 hours if there were any roster updates, and they said there were none. So, I asked them who the two new players were, and they said "Cloud" for gold and "Rose" for roam. I trusted their word and informed BloodThirstyKings (BTK) that it was Rose and Cloud because the opposing team needed to know who they were playing against in order to draft properly," explained Faithful, one of the tournament organizers.

It was only after the start of the match that suspicions arose regarding the identity of the players, as their gameplay did not align with the information initially provided. It was later revealed that Zia was the gold player, not Cloud as previously indicated. BTK, having played against these individuals for years, recognized the discrepancy and raised concerns following the conclusion of Game 1.

“However, as the game started, it became evident, if we used common sense, that the way Khufra was playing didn't match Rose's style. Later, it was discovered that Zia was the gold player, not Cloud. BTK has been playing against these people for years, and they know how each player performs compared to another. They also informed me that something was not right after Game 1 concluded,” he explained.

Faithful expressed disappointment over TOB's dishonesty, highlighting that transparency could have easily resolved the situation.

“I was disappointed that TOB lied to me when they could have simply been honest, and I would have gladly updated the roster as long as the new players hadn't played on another team in the tournament, which neither Shark nor Zia had.”, he said.

He emphasized that the investigation into the roster issue would have taken place irrespective of the match outcome, addressing claims made by certain fans that the investigation was biased due to BTK's loss.

“Regarding the claim that nobody would have looked into it if BTK had won the game, that is a complete lie. Regardless of the outcome, I would have asked TOB to tell me who the new players were after Game 1, based on the gameplay,” the organizer explained.

Faithful clarified that his decision to request a remake of Game 1 was driven by TOB's misleading communication rather than the inclusion of new players. 

“I didn't request a remake of Game 1 because they added new players, but because they lied to me and the other team about who they had added. All the team captains already know that I adjust my schedule a lot for teams and do everything I can to ensure they can play because I understand that my tournament is small,” he said.

Faithful made another update regarding the investigation, revealing that TOB admitted to the undisclosed roster changes and issued a sincere apology, promising to take necessary steps to ensure this incident doesn’t happen again.

“We would like to inform everyone that TheOhioBrothers (TOB) have come forward and sincerely apologized regarding the roster changes that were done in Game 1 against BloodThirstyKings (BTK). They acknowledge their fault in not providing accurate information about the new players added to their team,” the organizer explained.

The final outcome of the match resulted in BTK scoring a 2-0 victory over TOB in the upper bracket semifinals match in the NABA Invitational MLBB event. Both teams shall continue to compete for the tournament’s championship title.