This Twitch Rivals Controversy Has Streamers Divided

Over the last few years, the Twitch Rivals events have been the best way to see the platform's biggest stars compete head to head. However, every event seems to have some controversy of some kind attached. For example, stream snipping, cheating, and unsportsmanlike conduct have contributed to the shady side of Twitch Rivals. And with the recent "Rust" Twitch Rivals event, the trend has continued.

For the first-ever Twitch Rivals "Rust" tournament, the format was a 48-hour 40v40 PvP battle on a custom server with a whopping $100k prize on the line. The event had only two teams, the NA-based DisguisedToast squad, featuring many famous North American streamers like xQc and Shroud competing against Spanish and Latin American streamers led by Alexby11.

Unfortunately, many fans were left disappointed by the event, which ended prematurely when Alexby11's team withdrew on the third day (per Dexerto). This forced Twitch staff to announce Team DiguisedToast as the victors via Twitter, awarding the NA streamers with the $100k prize. 

This decision was a divisive issue among viewers, with some defending Alexby11's team's decision to abandon the tournament. On the other hand, streamers like Shroud have stated on-stream that leaving early displayed "poor sportsmanship," after explaining that he thinks the players who ditched shouldn't get an invite to future Twitch events.

Many reasons and theories have been listed as to why Alexby11's team didn't return for the third day. For example, Alexby11 took to Twitter shortly after the event's first to highlight what he believed to be unfair treatment. He pointed out that the NA team was using revolvers during the "primitive age," which seemed to break the rules posted by Twitch.

Multiple other participating streamers shared their grievances on Twitter, with streamer Riceroy explaining why he wouldn't return for day three of the event: "I think it's embarrassing the lack of respect" (via Google Translate). It's safe to say that Alexby11's team felt mistreated during the event and consequently justified for not participating on the final day.

However, some NA participants have continued to complain about the conduct seen during the event. Team Liquid's Mendo, specifically, was angry at the opposition, shouting on stream in reaction to the cancellation news, "It is spineless, it is childish, and I cannot believe that actually happened with a set of streamers that are grown adults when they call us 14-year-olds." He claimed to have heard racist and sexist trash talk from Team Aleby11, which is a clear break of Twitch's Terms of Service.

If or how Twitch will resolve the situation is unclear. But Twitch has stated that this event has led the platform to consider making changes to future events.