A certain Mr. Wong...

has gotten himself in trouble back in the world of Fight Man

from shoryuken.com:

You can watch the match here (seek to 1:55:00)

Upon review, it is our conclusion that the MVC3 Loser's Final set was not played by Justin with a good-faith effort to win. This would be categorized as "intentionally underperforming" and is a violation of this rule, which states:

Collusion of any kind with your competitors is considered cheating. If the Tournament Director determines that any competitor is colluding to manipulate the results or intentionally underperforming, the collaborating players may be immediately disqualified. This determination is to be made at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director. Anyone disqualified in this manner forfeits all rights to any titles or prizes they might have otherwise earned for that tournament.

In our judgment, by not making a good-faith effort to win, Justin intentionally underperformed. As a result, he forfeits the prize associated with the EVO 2011 Tournament Series portion of this event: his placement points. In addition to this penalty, we are issuing a Yellow Card as is described in the Rule Enforcement and Disqualification section:

The Director has the discretion to issue one (or more) of the following in response to each rule vioation: Match forfeiture, a Yellow Card, a Red Card

There are no immediate consequences for a Yellow Card, but another Yellow Card will result in disqualification from the EVO World Finals this July.

Justin is NOT being cited for losing. Everyone misses combos, makes a wrong guess, gets "upset" by a player perceived to be weaker, or just plain loses. All of that is of course acceptable. He also explained that he had not been practicing MVC3, and so was "rusty." We of course understand that a player may not be in top shape for every game they play in, and that a player may not end up performing well on any given day.

The issue, however, is not that Justin lost. It was HOW he lost, coupled with the fact that his loss would benefit a close friend.

Regarding his explanation, we accept the claim that Justin was out of practice in MVC3. Unfortunately, simply being out of practice does not explain the decisions he made. If someone is out of practice, choosing less familiar characters and ignoring accepted strategies seems like an extremely bad idea, if their intention is to win. Beyond the dropped combos, etc., Justin chose to play characters he was clearly unfamiliar with, as well as choosing Phoenix and then starting her on point--which is universally regarded as a losing strategy, but one he chose to pursue anyway. As a result of these choices, we can only conclude that he did not play the match in a good-faith effort to win.

Results:

• Justin Wong will lose his EVO ranking points for this event.
  
• He will receive a standing Yellow Card penalty for the duration of the 2011 season. Any further infraction will result in disqualification.
  

Since we do not have any clear evidence of collaboration between players, we can only penalize the player whose performance reflects intentional underperformance. Noel Brown will still receive points for fighting his way into the Loser's Final match, as matches up to that point do not reflect evidence of any collusion or intentional under-performance.

We feel the recorded evidence is clear, and internal action on this matter began immediately following the match. We have been in conversation with Justin Wong and Evil Genuises regarding this matter, and here are their statements:

I did not intentionally lose to Noel Brown. As many know and saw, I was losing matches and dropping combos all weekend in MvC3. My main focus as of late has been MK and the upcoming PDP event, and I think my results at this event pretty much reflect that shift in focus. In the match with Noel, I did what I have done a lot in this game, picked something out of the ordinary to confuse my opponent. It worked in the first game, but not in the second. I then switched to my main team and it went down to the wire with Noel winning 3-2. Everyone knows I play wacky stuff, and this is not the first time I have chosen wacky teams/characters in tournaments. This is just my strategy sometimes. I play very unique things and I shouldn't be penalized for what I have doing for years, just because I did it against a good friend and lost. I have asked EVO to reconsider their decision, but this is their event series and their call to make. I will not apologize for this play-style, but I do apologize to my fans and my teammates and management at Team Evil Geniuses for the drama this has caused. I hope my true fans realize this was just a match I lost. It does happen.

Justin Wong – Team Evil Geniuses

It is unfortunate that Justin has been given a Yellow Card and lost his seeding points from this recent PowerUp event. We stand by our player’s account of the events in question and urge EVO to reconsider their decision. While we are not in agreement with their decision, we have the utmost respect for the EVO organization and are looking forward to a fantastic EVO World Finals.

Scott Smith – CEO, Team Evil Geniuses

EVO was born out of the shared efforts and interests of many players from around the US and the world. It is born from and committed to the idea that the most exciting matchups come from the normal progression of competitors through a set bracket, with no artificial interference designed to create a dramatic pairing. The thrill of the top 8 comes precisely because it's full of surprises, and the recognition that each of the champions battled their way fairly through fierce competitors. We take the integrity of that competition with the utmost seriousness, and appreciate your support and vigilant voices in striving to hold all of us to the higest standards and work together on making an amazing event.

Not really sure where this should be, so I chose the Funhouse. Meh. Thought people might find it funny.