Four Fortnite pros have been suspended following reports that they colluded during the Fortnite Champion Series Duos event this past weekend. The pairs of Nate “Kreo” Kou and Logan “Bucke” Eschenburg and “Keys” and “Slackes” are now serving a 60 day competitive ban per Epic Games’ ruling.

What happened in FNCS?

Both teams played in the Week 1 finals of the FNCS Duos tournament on March 22, securing the top two spots with ease. A user by the name of “Droxide” on Twitter highlighted a tagging technique employed by the duos to save themselves from a storm surge.

lil free storm surge lmao pic.twitter.com/tCZP4mYAHC — droxide (@DROXlDE) March 23, 2020

This wasn’t the first time they used the tagging technique. Kreo, Bucke, Keye, and Slackes also tried the same moves during warmups, fueling the charges lobbied against them during the finals.

With evidence mounting, Epic had no choice but to make a tournament integrity call. The company ruled that the four players were in fact teaming, which is bannable under FNCS rules under section 8.2.2. The fine print says: “players may not work together to deceive or otherwise cheat other players during any match…[including] working together during the match while on opposing teams.”

The 60 day ban issued by Epic makes the two teams ineligible to complete the FNCS Duos tournament for Chapter 2 Season 2, and may well extend into next season.

Reactions to the ban

Bucke, a member of Team Envy, issued a statement on Twitter. In it, he points out that “Everyone has their own storm surge routes/techniques. We know where people land due to maps that are made by third parties.”

Kreo followed up with his own comments on the ban. “Wish we at least had the opportunity to explain ourselves without everyone hopping on the bandwagon,” he said. “Also wish Fortnite did some sort of investigation [and] asked us questions.”

The community at large seems to be split, but leans toward favoring Epic’s ruling. The company has been called too lenient in past decisions; this is an attempt to show adjustment in the treatment of foul play.

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