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Competitor reports usage of exploits that get ignored by TOs during Bandai Namco’s official Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero tournament





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Competitor reports usage of exploits that get ignored by TOs during Bandai Namco's official Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero tournament


A rather bizarre situation surfaced not too long ago during Bandai Namco’s promotional Dramatic Showdown Tournament circuit. During the French qualifiers, competitors Hilliasteur and Shiryxu both played on stream as Android 19 and Dr. Gero.






Both of these fighters are generally perceived to be top tier thanks to an exploit that allows them to stall out a game indefinitely by repeatedly ascending and descending. Android type characters are especially good at doing this since their gauges don’t deplete beyond a certain point, allowing them to run away without any real counter play.









Allegedly, Hilliasteur was pressured by Bandai Namco to change characters and “play seriously” or risk disqualification. He ended up complying which ultimately resulted in Shiryxu winning the French qualifier slot.


However, a few days later, it was revealed over Discord that it was decided that both finalists were being disqualified after the fact. Shiryxu’s slot in the Dramatic Showdown Tournament circuit had been revoked. The two third-placers would have a match off stream to determine who would get it instead.


Though it was cited that both finalists had “engaged in actions that violated the Code of Conduct,” it was difficult to narrow down exactly what rule was broken by the two competitors. Hilliasteur’s disqualification felt especially bizarre since he ultimately did comply with the tournament organizers, but was punished anyhow.


Regardless, Bandai Namco was seemingly putting forth the impression that these sort of tactics were not to be permitted for the rest of the circuit. Despite this, one competitor opted to effectively repeat what had happened during the Dramatic Showdown Japan Qualifier.


STG|Nikito_TheOne, on his very first match in the qualifier bracket, ran into this player. After the match, Nikito_TheOne reported what had happened, but was told by the tournament organizers to continue playing his set without any rulings or reprimands being placed on his opponent, seemingly setting up a problematic double standard between the two qualifier events.







We decided to reach out to Nikito_TheOne to hear more about his story within the FGC and his experience with what happened during this event. Check out our full interview below:


DarkHorse: Could you please share with us some of your background and who you are?


Nikito:My name is Nikito_TheOne. I’m from Charlotte, North Carolina and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. I went from being homeless after high school to joining the United States Marines. I served 5 years and was able to retire from being disabled. Now I live in Okinawa, Japan with my wife.


DarkHorse: How did you get involved with the FGC and for how long?


Nikito: I have been playing fighting games my whole life. Since I was around 5 years old, I loved Mortal Kombat trilogy. I won a few local tourneys for games such as Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3, and Mortal Kombat X.


I had my big break in an arena fighter named Demon Slayer Hinokami Chronicles. The game changed my life and I was able to perform great getting a video made about me by Globku. Then I got my biggest raid ever from my brother, Quyon, after I won my biggest tournament for Demon Slayer and we have been close ever since.


DarkHorse: What is your experience as a tournament organizer?


Nikito: After I got a strong following, I wanted to give back to the community that blessed me with support, so I started to tournament organize and retired from competing. After I got a little seasoned with being a TO, I decided to host a Dragon Ball Fighterz Tournament and that’s how I got deep in the FGC and meeting professional players for the first time.


There was a difference between competitive play in arena and traditional fighting games. I got addicted and was pouring love back into the communities for Demon Slayer and Dragon Ball FighterZ. This was in 2022 when I first began.


In 2023, I created a tournament series called “The Streets,” where I left behind Demon Slayer while adding Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1. Eventually when Tekken 8 came out this year, I also added it to The Streets. I met pro players, commentators and bigger TOs along the way, and built connections and respect across multiple games.


DarkHorse: Why did you sign up for the Sparking Zero event and was this your first one for the game?


Nikito: Well I love Dragon Ball and the Tenkaichi series. Dragon Ball changed my life and was the reason I defended myself against bullies and had the courage to join the Marines out of all the branches. Plus I really felt I could win based off the rules set in place.


DarkHorse: How far into the tournament did you run into the Android player?


Nikito: My first match.


DarkHorse: At what point would you say they started abusing the flight, and when did you reach out to the admins?


Nikito: After the first quarter of the match. He Ki blast looped me from behind, which is untechable and has no counter play. He then ran away for three minutes.


Android 19 and Android 20 can run away for eternity because their gauges do not deplete past two bars. My opponent had both on one team.


I am a Z ranked player. I have seen this before and it’s broken. I reported to the staff and they blatantly let the player continue with the exploits. I even brought up that this is part of the reason why they disqualified the France grand finalists.


I was confused because this player did two exploits and was not punished. When I reported, he made himself visible and after they said to “just play,” he proceeded to use exploits because he was not being punished.


DarkHorse: Do you know if there was any warnings or communications with the other player?


Nikito: As far as I know, there were no warnings made. I got all of my replies from the admins in public in the “Pools 3” section of Discord.


DarkHorse: Can you think of anything that would differentiate your situation than what happened in France or why they wouldn’t give them a warning?

Nikito: The only difference was my opponent abused two exploits and my situation was not on stream.


DarkHorse: Do you know if it’s the same admins handling the brackets for all the regions?


Nikito: Yes, from what I have seen.


DarkHorse: Did you have any other contact with the admins outside of what’s in your tweets?


Nikito: Yes, I messaged the general admin hours before the tournament started. I asked if Android 19 and Android 20 were banned, and if I can report anyone using exploits because I know people will do anything to win. I was ignored.


DarkHorse: Did you see the Android flight be used in that way by any other players at the event?


Nikito: No, I did not in fact. He played differently when he was in the official Bandai Namco stream and even changed one of his characters.


DarkHorse: How do you feel about the situation given your own tournament organizer experience?


Nikito: I feel like as a TO myself, the way I was treated was unprofessional and very disrespectful. I never treated players in such manner, and neither has my peers or mentors.


DarkHorse: Is there anything else you’d like to add about the situation or feelings about the game in general for a competitive scene?


Nikito: I love Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, but if the companies involved with the game does not get in tune with the community, then the game will die. There needs to be rules and they have to stand by them.


I believe they should have taken notes from other Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero tournaments before them. Had they done this, this would not have happened.


I pray that one day they at least hire some people who are in deep with the community to make changes the people need and want for competitive play.









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