An alleged stream sniping situation unfolded during Fortnite's first-ever Nick Eh 30 Cup.
Typical Fortnite petulance reared its ugly head during the Grand Finals of Twitch streamer Nick "Nick Eh 30" Amyoony's Epic Games-sanction tournament. The Fortnite competitive team worked closely with Nick Eh 30 to develop a one-day, two-round competition in his name, where he would face 99 qualified players in the finals.
The Canadian-native first hosted a viewing party, where he showcased different players' points of view as they looked to secure a top-99 finish in the open round. During the finals, Nick accrued 29 points through his first four games but stayed positive mentally, looking to bounce back in the final two games. Unfortunately, an alleged stream sniper and griefer crushed the family-friendly steamer's positive vibes in match five of the Nick Eh 30 Cup.
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Nick Eh 30 Stream Sniped/Griefed
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Game five spelled disaster for Nick Eh 30 from the moment he exited the Battle Bus. The Twitch streamer committed to his typical Ghost House landing spot, also known as mini Agency, located east of Weeping Woods. As Nick approached the multi-level house, two other finalists also had their sights set on the same spot.
One of those players, known as ArchieFN, landed with full intentions of eliminating Nick Eh 30 during his first official Fortnite tournament. The player succeeded after grabbing a weapon and locating Nick on the Ghost House's second level.
The usually reserved Nick Eh 30 could not help but react with a toned-down level of anger. "There's no way because, like, they're not even trying," said Nick during the griefing incident. "I hope that guy gets banned from all tournaments, and I hope Epic does something." The perpetrator proceeded to emote on Nick Eh 30 as the Twitch streamer filed a report for cheating/hacking using Fortnite's in-game report-a-player system.
Toward the end of match five, the alleged stream sniper received a 24-hour ban for the offense. The offender also streamed the entire situation from his point-of-view.
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Alleged Stream Sniper broadcasts his POV
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ArchieFN streamed the entire ordeal, beginning with locating Nick Eh 30's landing spot in replay mode. He tinkered with the decision but ultimately followed through. The player landed on Ghost House's roof, grabbed an SMG, eliminated Nick and proceeded to emote both on stream and in-person. After dispatching the tournament host, the offender apologized to Nick, stating that he was sorry and had nowhere else to land.
The player finished match five in 33rd place, returned to the lobby and received a 24-hour account ban for "Harassment (Streamsniping)."
Epic issues ban and Nick shows appreciation
Before queuing into the final match of the Nick Eh 30 Cup, Nick played some Realistic Solo games to stay warm. After one of those matches, Nick Eh 30 returned to Fortnite's lobby to find that Epic Games took action on the alleged stream sniper. Justice was served, but Nick was apologetic for losing his cool. "I have nothing against him. Maybe he's a fan? I don't know," said Nick Eh 30 before game six. Before adding, "I am just glad [Epic Games] took care of it. I still wish him all the best."
Nick, who rarely ever displays any anger on his streams, stayed level-headed despite his frustrations.
Alleged Stream Sniper Explains His Side
The offending player, ArchieFN, took to Twitter after the dust somewhat settled to explain his side of the story.
"I tried landing edge map, I'm on 80ping, kept getting third partied. Tried landing robot hands, got 50/50'd and died. Tried landing lazy and couldn't get much loot. Thought I'd try out mini agency thinking I could possibly beat Nick off spawn. Did not stream snipe," he said.
ArchieFN believes that what he did is not stream sniping, since he knew where Nick would land and deliberately targeted him. He continued, "If I didn't kill Nick then I wouldn't be banned right now. The hate makes sense but the ban genuinely does not. Especially when the other person contesting is not banned."
The semantics are undoubtedly in question. Was it stream sniping? It does not appear that way as anyone could go into replay mode and find out where another player is landing. However, it was a morally inept decision made no better by the fact that the offender danced on Nick after eliminating him.
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Stream Sniping versus Griefing
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Competitive Fortnite player Fray was one of the first to chime in on the situation, stating a clear difference between stream sniping and knowing where a player lands. It's a bad look, but the act might fall closer to lines of griefing or perhaps even purposely throwing another player's tournament. Since the Nick Eh 30 Cup has no official ruleset, it's hard to say if what Archie did is punishable.
Nevertheless, the 24-hour ban will remain in place until something more comes of this situation. Nick returned to his usual cheery self and finished the tournament "not in last place," by his own words.
Hopefully, Epic can continue assessing these situations and develop a better system of handling griefers, stream snipers and "clout farmers."
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Featured Image: Nick Eh 30
