Overwatch player from Selfless Gaming banned from competition for violating conduct rule

Zorine Te
Blizzard has handed down disciplinary action in Overwatch Contenders. (Blizzard)
Blizzard has handed down disciplinary action in Overwatch Contenders. (Blizzard)

Overwatch player Daniel “Dafran” Francesca has been banned from competing in Overwatch Contenders’ inaugural season, Blizzard announced today. Dafran was a part of Selfless Gaming’s roster, who was competing in Overwatch Contenders Season Zero.

According to the announcement Blizzard ruled that Dafran had violated Rule 7.0 (Conduct) of the Overwatch Contenders Ruleset, which states that “All competitors and spectators are required to act in a respectful sportsmanlike manner at all times.”

As a result of Blizzard’s ruling, Dafran is suspended from accessing his Overwatch accounts for one week, and from Competitive Play for the remainder of Season 5. He is also disqualified from Overwatch Contenders Season Zero, will not be eligible for Overwatch Contenders Season One, and is disqualified from “all future Blizzard-sanctioned tournament play for the duration of this competitive season.”

Dafran was the DPS player in the Selfless Gaming roster. The team is still able to compete in the tournament, albeit with a substitute. He has shared a post on Twitter in response to the ruling.

Overwatch Contenders wrapped up its Season Zero for the North American region just last weekend. The competition had been whittled down to the top 16 teams, who will go on to face each other in the group stages. The Europe Open Qualifiers will take place on June 10-11, with the EU group stage to follow on June 17. Season Zero has a prize pool of $50,000 per region.

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