The 19-year-old Fortnite professional Bucke wanted to take part in a tournament in Denmark and flew 6,500 kilometers from Detroit in the USA to Copenhagen. Now he tells how he was sent back there by 4 security guards. He had apparently violated Epic Games’ rules and the ban on alcohol and smoking.
This is the situation:
Fortnite always tells great stories about its players:
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Pro reports how he was disqualified and put on the plane 3 hours before the tournament
That’s what US professional Bucke says: In a stream on Twitch, which was then shared as a clip, the 19-year-old talks about the moment he was disqualified and immediately put in a taxi to the airport:
[Er sagte zu mir:] You have to come with me right now. I was like, what’s going on? And he said, literally: We have come to the decision that you are disqualified from the FNCS Global Championship. This decision is final and I can’t tell you anything more.
I then said: Tell me why.
But he said: That’s all I can tell you. You will receive an email with more information when you return to the US.
Then he said: We have a flight for you at 3 p.m. – it was 12 p.m. There’s a taxi waiting outside, you have to take it now.
They had 4 security guards – I think they thought I would react un-nicely. […] I think the security guards thought I was going to punch them.
Why was he disqualified? Bucke said only that he was told he had violated Section 8 of the rules. Paragraph 8 (Code of Conduct) requires players to behave impeccably (via Fortnite).
As streamer Clix, who is friends with Bucke, explains, the rules stipulated that you were not allowed to drink or smoke at the tournament.
Bucke violated these rules in the stream and was therefore disqualified. The players were informed about these rules (via tiktok).
There is no explicit ban on alcohol and cigarettes in Epic Games’ rules, but since Bucke is still under the legal drinking age in the USA, this could have been his downfall. If Clix is right in his statement and the professionals were expressly forbidden from smoking and drinking, that would also be a logical reason for a ban.
Bucke probably thinks Denmark is a bit too great
This is the clip that might have cost him the tournament: Another clip shows Bucke raving about Denmark:
It’s quite possible that Epic Games saw this stream and decided to immediately disqualify the player.
Partner separates from Bucke after the action
What impact did that have? Bucke’s partner, Okis, with whom he qualified for the tournament and wanted to play, ultimately had to compete alone. He wrote on Twitter: “Worked so hard for nothing.”
As can be seen from another TikTok video, the partner has now separated from Bucke. He wrote that he wanted to remain friends with Bucke, but could no longer be his partner after the events.
In general, the professionals clearly see Bucke’s disqualification as a mistake on the part of the player and not as a bad decision by Epic Games. In general, the ban is viewed as a “disappointing stupidity” on Bucke’s part.
How does Bucke see it now? He now also seems to clearly see the mistake in himself. On October 16, he asked on Twitter: “Why am I so damn stupid?”
Fortnite also banned a professional at the first major World Cup:
Fortnite takes 14-year-old out of World Cup match – He did a bad thing