Olivia R. July 10, 2020
Cloud9 streamer PVPX recently called out San Francisco Shock's Minki "Viol2t" Park for being toxic during a recent match, and the Overwatch League community is torn.
It all started when PVPX tweeted at Viol2t that it was "fun" playing with him.
"An Overwatch League player flaming multiple teammates in ranked and using ultimate in spawn because he is upset while streaming. Great look on professional Overwatch," PVPX said.
He then shared a clip of Viol2t using his ultimate in spawn as Lucio, essentially wasting it. He then jumps around the stage at random, punching walls, staying far away from all of the teamfight action. A few other clips of Viol2t's stream were also shared, showing him purposely throwing a game and not really being much help at all.
In response, Viol2t decided to call out PVPX for playing terribly that match. He sarcastically called him a "defense god gamer" and shared his POV match replay so others could watch PVPX's poor performance.
"Me having a bad game doesn't give you the right to force a 5v6 and flame our team when you weren't playing good either," PVPX retorted.
Some Junkrat mains shared the replay on their own Twitter, joking that they don't "claim" PVPX as a fellow Grandmaster Junkrat. After watching the clip from PVPX's point of view, many came to the conclusion that he was also throwing.
PVPX then shared a clip of Viol2t acting innappropriately through in-game chat. In the clip listeners can hear Viol2t telling his teammates to kill themselves and to "fucking die."
"Nobody wants this shit to happen. We can ALL do better. INCLUDING MYSELF. I've dealt with three years of harassment for playing Junkrat. People telling me to kill myself just for picking it. People throwing games for my character choice. Today was my tipping point and I'm sorry," PVPX tweeted soon after.
OWL fans debate toxicity, throwing ranked games
The Overwatch League community had trouble taking either side, but most eventually decided that Viol2t has more of a responsibility to act appropriately. They especially didn't take kindly to his abusive language, especially after some recent tragedies in the streaming community.
While many felt that both players deserved "punishment" for their behavior during the match, the majority of fans felt that San Francisco Shock should step up and take action against Viol2t, whether it be a fine or behavioral training. Some tried to argue that "kill yourself" is a common phrase thrown around during games, but Viol2t being a professional player means he should be setting a better example and not taking part in extreme toxic behavior.
A few fans argued that those kind of threats are not taken seriously in South Korea, where Viol2t is from. But others dismissed such an argument, pointing out that the phrase shouldn't be accepted no matter where a person is from, and that it certainly isn't acceptable among his peers today.
"The hate isn't going to stop and it never will. I still stand by my decision to speak up about what happened regardless if it makes me a human punching bag," PVPX tweeted.
Aside from his initial response and then the retweeting of Bad Pachimari's video of PVPX's POV replay, Viol2t hasn't made any further statements on the matter. The San Francisco Shock organization, which employs Viol2t, has also been silent thus far.