Banter between esports teams is very common. It makes the competition much more fun, and interesting while paving the way for healthy rivalries to emerge.
That being said, there has to be a line between what constitutes banter and what can be termed outright bullying. Some fans of the MPL PH feel that that line was crossed when RSG PH posted a meme after a convincing 2-0 victory against EVOS Nexplay on Aug. 28. The fans are demanding that the MPL PH protect its players.
RSG posts meme targeting Nexplay’s H2WO, fans call on MPL PH to “protect” their players
The meme, which many players feel was offensive, was posted by the organization on its official Facebook handle.
It features a scene from the popular anime Attack on Titans which shows a titan eating a soldier of the Survey Corps. The titan has been marked with a logo of RSG while H2WO’s face has been placed on the soldier. H2WO has even been tagged in the post by RSG PH.
Image Credits | RSG Philippines
The meme was posted shortly after RSG PH dominated in their league stage bout against Nexplay EVOS. The match, which happened on Aug. 28, saw RSG beat Nexplay 2-0.
H2WO had a detrimental performance in both the games with a 0/2/0 (K/D/A) score in the first match and a 0/4/0 in the second.
At the time of writing, the post has more than 12,000 likes, 1,200 comments, and 470 shares.
While most people found it funny, a lot of fans felt that RSG crossed the line with this meme and shouldn’t have targeted an individual player. The fans also said that this constitutes “bullying.”
What is the line between friendly banter and bullying?
What makes being an esports fan even more exciting is the huge community you get to be a part of. And having banter with them over social media is just part of the fun.
With that being said, many fans defended H2WO and felt that RSG crossed the line with their meme. They launched a hashtag: #MPLPHProtectYourPlayers urged the league to take action against the organization.
RSG, on the other hand, was unfazed by the criticism. They even made another post on Facebook with the hashtag: #RSGProtectYourEditor.
Image Credits | RSG Philippines
MPL PH hasn’t responded to the controversy. The situation is certainly complex because if the league decides to intervene and make RSG delete the post, similar community outbursts can happen for even minor banter memes in the future.
MPL PH has entered its fourth week
Despite the controversy, the competition will continue in the MPL PH. After three weeks, Onic PH is at the top of the table with 13 points.
RSG PH is in fifth place with eight points while EVOS Nexplay is sixth with just five points. The top six teams from the regular season will advance to the playoffs.
The MPL PH Season 10 has a total prize pool of $150,000. Besides this, the teams are fighting for the two spots in the M4 World Championship, which will take place in Indonesia from Jan. 1 to 15.
