Statement regarding fortnite and Krigsmikkel
Daniel Vorborg, head of Esports
During the third week of season 14 FNCS Europe Qualifier, the trio with two of our academy players – Erik and PenguWingu – broke the rules with assistance from our Fortnite coach Mikkel Rasmussen, also known as Krigsmikkel.
ERIK kept crashing during games and in the end he couldn’t even launch Fortnite. The trio, and Mikkel, then made the decision to let Mikkel play the final two games of the qualifier on Erik’s account.
Nothing can excuse account sharing and Mikkel instantly regretted the decision. He immediately called us to inform us of his actions.
We held an emergency meeting in Copenhagen Flames the same night, and the following morning. We immediately suspended Mikkel from all duties and the trio was told not to play the following day in the qualifier, as they didn’t earn their advancement in the tournament rightfully. We’ve informed Epic Games of the wrongdoing of the trio and Mikkel, and are awaiting their verdict on the case.
We have also taken immediate action of our own.
Mikkel will effective immediately be removed from working with our academy and professional lineups, and also being the face of Copenhagen Flames in YouTube series like “Fortnite News”. Both will last for the foreseeable future, but can be reevaluated in time. Account sharing and cheating, are not in line with the values we hold at Copenhagen Flames, and there has to be consequences for such actions.
However, we will continue to work with Mikkel in other capacities involving the administrative part of our expansion of our bootcamps etc.
We have decided to keep Mikkel in Copenhagen Flames, as we do not believe that one mistake defines you as a person. Mikkel has throughout his tenure with our club shown a high level of integrity very much in line with our values in Copenhagen Flames. This paired with the fact that Mikkel instantly reported the wrongdoing to our management, has led to our decision to keep him on and provide him with a chance to show us that this was a one time occurrence.
As for our academy players ERIK and PenguWingu – both were heavily involved in this incident. We have decided to lessen their punishment because of their age and the fact that Mikkel is the person they should look to when making decisions like this. As the Head of our Fortnite roster; he is responsible for guiding and assisting our young players in line with the values and ethics of our club.
We are awaiting the verdict of Epic Games, who have received full information on the incident. While Epic Games conclude their investigation we have suspended Erik and PenguWingu from participating in any official tournaments and will honor whatever Epic’s verdict may be. When they have served their sentence, we hope to continue to work with them and help them in the right direction in the future.
Statement from Krigsmikkel
I was live coaching ERIK, PenguWingu and Lowkey for the trio FNCS, and stakes were somewhat high since we had to make it to the top 100 in semis in order to ensure qualification for finals heats. PenguWingu and I was at Copenhagen Flames’ office in Copenhagen, and ERIK and Lowkey were at their own places.
During the tournament the trio crashes a total of five times and ERIK is crashing three of them. Many of the games have been played as two players and we were all quite frustrated about the situation. A quick
decision ends with me playing the last two games of the qualification on ERIK’s account.
Just as we return to the lobby and the qualification is secured, I start feeling strange. The feeling of cheat and disgust hits me and I’m certain that the decision we made was wrong. We cheated. We defied the rules of the game that we all love and care for. It’s wrong from every aspect, and I won’t argue for anything less. My inner compass of both moral and ethics failed me, and neither did I stop PenguWingu, ERIK or Lowkey from making the decision. I feel like I’ve betrayed myself and everything I stand for in terms of professional integritity of Fortnite.
I feel like I’ve let down everyone who has supported me. I have let down Copenhagen Flames. This is a lesson I will never forget in my life, and I never wanna reexperience this feeling.
The same night, just after the tournament was done, I chose to contact Copenhagen Flames’ management and inform them about the incident. For the same reason we did not play the semi-finals of FNCS Week 3, because we did not earn that spot. We didn’t deserve it.
This is an action that will never repeat itself from my side and I’m very disappointed with myself – both as a human being and as Fortnite Coach. An apology won’t simply do enough in this case, but I will make sure that actions like this will never ever reoccur.
Copenhagen Flames have evaluated the case and reached the decision of keeping me in the organization. A decision I’m happy about. However I won’t be allowed to work with our professional or academy players for a period of time. A decision I stand behind and support. I the time of my suspension I will evaluate my actions and return a stronger human and a better coach.
Thank you for reading.