Earlier this week, a peculiar situation emerged when Bandai Namco allegedly pressured a player to switch characters during the grand finals of the Dramatic Showdown Tournament French qualifiers.
In the first match of this set, both players were using Android 19 and Dr. Gero due to their ability to ascend and descend infinitely as it does not cost meter for android characters to do this. Through this, the two players were able to demonstrate a major problem with the game in that it’s too difficult to interact with the opponent if they continuously ascend and descend like this.
Ultimately, Hilliasteur complied with Bandai Namco’s warning and switched characters. This effectively awarded Shiryxu the win since he was allowed to continue using Android 19 and Dr. Gero. Though this was a strange result, Hilliasteur seemed somewhat pleased that at least Shiryxu was able to progress without disqualification, but it seems that it was all for naught.
Earlier this morning, it was announced on the Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Discord that Bandai Namco has now decided that the two finalists at the Dramatic Showdown Tournament French qualifiers, Shiryxu and Hilliasteur, will be disqualified as they have apparently “engaged in actions that violated the Code of Conduct.”
With this, Shiryxu’s qualification for the Battle Hour Grand Final has been revoked. The two third-place finalists, DrastreSparking and Siimba51, will be invited by administrators to compete, with the supervision of administrators while off stream, for the now apparent open slot.
It’s also come out that Shiryxu, the original winner of the Dramatic Showdown Tournament French qualifiers, asked several times in the Discord chat if there was a rule against winning via a time over in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero. Though no tournament organizer responded to his question, it was pointed out that there was nothing in the rules that technically prohibited this.
Strangely, it’s also being reported that the rules were changed after this event had transpired. This suggests that Shiryxu and Hilliasteur have been disqualified for violating a rule that did not exist at the time.
Check out the full statement issued by an admin that announced Bandai Namco’s decision below:
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The tournament organizers have determined that two players engaged in actions that violated the Code of Conduct during the finals for the Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero The Dramatic Shodown Online Qualifier France. Their actions disrupted the normal operation of the event.
The tournament organizers have decided to take the following measures:
• Disqualification of both players.
• Revocation of qualification for the Battle Hour Grand Final.
• The third-place players will be invited to compete in a match under the supervision of administrators off-stream. The winner will qualify for the Battle Hour Grand Final.
The tournament organizers will continue to strictly address any violations or inappropriate behavior. We ask for the understanding and cooperation of all participants, spectators, and staff.
ME AND HILLIASTEUR ARE GETTING DQ from the France Dramatic Showdown
You guys all saw the finals where we played androids by going up and down right ?
Basically we’ve done nothing wrong, no rules went against that it’s just the optimal way to play DP battles pic.twitter.com/wEO7jWW4rT
— Shiryxu (@SHIRYXU) November 29, 2024
The winner of the tournament asked multiple times if the strategy was allowed and was ignored my the moderation team and according to the winner this rule was edited after victory pic.twitter.com/Y3I0bMmrV2
— Sparking! ZERO News (@DBSparkingNews) November 29, 2024
Even if I would have refused, why are they disqualifying me too LMAOO?
This is crazy… https://t.co/V9f232p7vH— Hilliasteur (@Hillisteur) November 29, 2024