Controversy has struck the competitive Dragon Ball Sparking Zero scene, after two high-level players were disqualified during an event over the weekend.
On Sunday, Bandai Namco and its competitive partner Start.gg held an open qualifier for a competitive event called The Dramatic Showdown in France. For the most part, the event went off without a hitch, but near the end of the competition, two players who had advanced to the final round – nicknamed Hilliasteur and Shirxyu – were disqualified, with the third-place players instead advancing to the grand final.
Prior to their disqualification, the players had been taking advantage of a quirk with some of the characters in the fighting game, namely the androids. Androids in Dragon Ball Sparking Zero don't require a particular type of energy usually needed in the game to fly, and these players had been using this to run out the timer on the match by flying away from their opponent, using the advantage from not needing energy to keep at arm's length. This is not against the listed rules for the tournament, but is generally understood to be a bit unsportsmanlike, as players are expected to actively fight during matches.
The affected players claim that they were told to "play seriously" by tournament organizers, and say that they had been, but they were ultimately disqualified. The organizers of the tournament later declared that the players were disqualified for "actions that violated the Code of Conduct" and that their actions "disrupted the normal operation of the event." It's not known at this stage if the disqualification was decided upon by Bandai Namco itself or by organizers at Start.gg.
Following the disqualification, Shyrxu took to Twitter, claiming they'd done "nothing wrong," and that they were banned simply for playing "the optimal way." Neither Bandai Namco or Start.gg have publicly commented on the disqualification, so the details are still murky, as we're not aware of any other communications or actions taken by either party ahead of the disqualification.
🚨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
The official rules of the tournament do state that "engaging in any other behavior deemed by the Tournament Group to be inappropriate" can cause immediate disqualification, a clause that some players have claimed was added after the disqualification happened. This isn't the case, though, as the official rules document that lists this rule was created on November 9, 2024 — two weeks before the tournament took place.
The rules also state that "all players are expected to exhibit good sportsmanship, honesty, and fair play," and that the organizers reserve the right to disqualify any player for any reason.
Nevertheless, the game's community and the fighting game community as a whole has been largely negative towards the decision, with even big names like SonicFox – one of the most well-known players in the fighting game community – saying "this is stupid."
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