Fortnite Pro Clix's Two-Week Ban Infuriates Fans And Streamers
Epic Games has suspended "Fortnite" player Cody "Clix" Conrad for allegedly "teaming up with a competitor" during the North American Week 2 finals of the FNCS Major 2 eSports competition – and the decision has drawn major scrutiny. The ban is set to last two weeks, which will mean that Clix will have to miss out on the upcoming Fortnite Champion Series Grand Finals, the following FNCS, and the LAN event. Clix claims that missing these events will disqualify him from participating in FNCS for the next four months. Many, including Clix himself, think that this punishment is a little extreme. Clix has argued that he was the target of the alleged sniper and that any collusion was unintentional.
In order to try and make his case, Clix posted a video on Twitter in which he went through the sniper's video and attempted to explain the situation. He showed video footage from the perspective of the stream sniper, which clearly depicted the player singling Clix out and relentlessly dogging him through the entire game. Clix also pulled up the other player's Twitter account, which prominently noted in the bio that they are the "[Number One] Clix hater."
#FreeClix pic.twitter.com/KBfoamUYHS
— Clix (@Clix) April 24, 2023
Clix explained that he asked the player to drop a pizza in order to prove that they were watching his stream, and that accepting this item was the grounds on which he was banned. He acknowledged that he should not have accepted the item, but argued that the punishment seemed excessive. It would seem that many of his fans agree.
Clix fans want his ban shortened
This isn't Clix' first ban from Epic. He was previously suspended for seven days for playing with another banned streamer, Zayan. Nearly every fan who replied to Clix' recent Twitter post seemed to agree that Epic's punishment did not fit the crime this time, however. Most seem to agree that while Clix did technically break the rules, it seemed ridiculous that his punishment was the same as the player who allegedly initiated the cheating. Fellow pro streamer Syper PK argued:
2 Weeks for a heat of the moment mistake is too much. This isn't the same as 2 players agreeing to team in a tournament. You were getting stream sniped and made a mistake in the heat of the moment. A shorter suspension would have been enough.
— SypherPK (@SypherPK) April 24, 2023
Others have pointed out that the other player was European and had circumvented a region lock in order to participate in the North American competition in the first place, arguing that Clix would never have encountered them if other rules had been adequately enforced. Still more fans have simply started tweeting the hashtag #FreeClix in solidarity with the pro gamer. In the meantime, Clix claims in his defense video that he's reached out to Epic and that the studio is currently holding firm on its decision.