Promising Talent American Goons Disqualified From NA Closed Qualifiers

PGL, the famous tournament organizer, is responsible for hosting the North American Closed Qualifiers for the 2023 DPC Summer Tour. They have made it public on their Twitter account that team American Goons will be disqualified from the closed qualifiers for betting and match-fixing. 

American Goons suffered a loss to Grin Esports in the Upper Bracket Final, knocking them down to the Lower Bracket Final to play a match against Team GateKept for the last slot to Division II. Team GateKept was swept 0-2, meaning American Goons would take the last slot and qualify for the second division in the North American region.

Shortly after celebrating their victory, American Goons were informed that they had been disqualified from the DPC NA 2023 Closed Qualifiers. PGL announced the disqualification of American Goons on their Twitter account, and Team GateKept was awarded the last Division II spot instead. The decision confused many community members, but they soon figured out why.

PGL’s verdict was made after a screenshot surfaced online of a chat between American Goons Mid Laner esK and GateKept’s Offlaner Napkin before their match against each other. In the screenshot, Napkin asked the American Goons player if they lost to Grin Esports in the Upper Bracket Final to play against Napkin and his team in the Lower Bracket Final for the last deciding slot in NA Division II. Most people could tell that Napkin’s question seemed like a joke, so esK followed along and replied with a “ye.” 

Angry about their loss, Napkin allegedly sent this screenshot to the PGL admins, mentioning that esK clearly admitted to losing on purpose in their match against Grin Esports. This was likely the basis for the PGL's "verdict" since no other evidence was provided. Hence, American Goons were disqualified for “admitting” that they threw their match in the Upper Bracket Final.

Many notable community members, especially from North America, showed disgust at PGL’s decision to disqualify American Goons. Professional players such as ppd, Aui_2000, Bgod, and MoonMeander fully supported the young NA squad. Grin Esports, the first team to qualify and the ones to knock American Goons down to the Lower Bracket, also expressed their support for the American Goons. An update from PGL is yet to be announced.

A group of young North American players, American Goons, advanced to the second division of the NA DPC Tour through the closed qualifiers, finishing second place. However, due to a screenshot and match-fixing allegations, their hard-earned slot in Division II is handed over to Team GateKept, who finished third place and wasn’t supposed to qualify.