The Nexplay EVOS apologized for its no show in its highly anticipated Week 4 star match against ECHO on Sunday, March 13.
In a statement released hours after ECHO was awarded a 2-0 victory and full three points via default, NXPE through its official social media page Nexplay Esports cited a flat tire and the heavy traffic on its way to the venue as the reasons why it failed to arrive on time for the 8 p.m. schedule of the match.
“We sincerely apologize to the league operations of MPL Philippines, to the fans and supporters of Nexplay Evos, as well as to the ML community who waited for our game,” the statement read.
Under the league rules, if one team has not entered into the match room which has been prepared after twenty minutes, the late team by default is considered to have lost the matches twice in a row. It was a huge disappointment for fans who had been anticipating the clash between the league leaders and one of the most popular teams in the MPL.
It was also the supposed reunion of ECHO roamer Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera with his former team after he left NXPE in the off-season.
NXPE also explained that the team left its bootcamp with the usual four hours allowance time but the trip was delayed due to a flat tire and an unexpected heavy traffic in NLEX.
“On the way, the trip was delayed by a flat tire and it took around one hour before help came. We continued to NLEX where we experienced an unexpected heavy traffic which led us to arriving much later than expected at the venue for our most awaited match with ECHO Philippines,” the statement furthered.
NXPE, however, stressed that the incident is not an excuse and that the team and the organization always try to give its best every game.
“This is by no means an excuse for us and we would like to know that we will always strive to deliver our best every game,” it added.
“We respect and value every fane, we prepare for each one of them as always.”