Skiter apologizes to PGL after he claimed the tournament admins forced him to pee in a bottle mid-match during the WEU DPC.
The new season of Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) kicked off earlier this month and recently, a bizarre incident occurred in the Western European (WEU) scene. Two days ago (January 17), The International 11 champion, Oliver "skiter" Lepko, claimed that tournament admins from PGL forced him to pee in a bottle in the middle of a match. The 24-year-old carry then clarified his statement and apologized for claiming he was forced to do so.
The Skiter-pee incident
On January 17, Tundra Esports, the current Dota 2 world champions, played against Into The Breach in the WEU DPC. The series extended to a third game and by the 55-minute mark, Tundra paused the game to ask permission for a bathroom break.
After a long pause, skiter typed in the in-game chat, stating that he had peed in a bottle.
Despite the ruckus, the series ended 2-1 in Tundra’s favor. After the series, the TI11 champion, posted the image of the pee in a bottle. “PGL admins forced me to pee in a bottle ))” skiter captioned.
The Dota 2 community was amused by the incident. Most people were busy making memes, puns, and measuring skiter’s hydration levels. But some were questioning what seemed like an obnoxious decision by PGL.
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Skiter apologizes for the misleading post
Today, skiter posted another Tweet regarding the incident, claiming that PGL asked him to clarify his statement. Skiter said that he knew the rules do not allow bathroom breaks. However, he drank a lot of water which led to the incident. He admitted that he shared the photo with the misleading caption as he was frustrated with the situation. He then apologized for doing so.
“PGL has asked me to clarify my previous tweet. I knew the rulebook stated no bathroom breaks were allowed. I go toilet before every game, but drank a lot of water and had to go again due to the long game. Sorry to my fans for sharing the bottle as I was frustrated at the situation,” skiter clarified.
What does the rulebook say?
Though it seems harsh, it is indeed in the rulebook and PGL was strictly following the procedure. According to PGL’s DPC 2023 Winter Tour Rulebook, going to the bathroom mid-game is forbidden, and doing so results in a penalty. The sixth point on page five states:
Players are not allowed to access the restroom during a game until the end of it. Doing so will result in a LVL 2 penalty, taking away bonus time during the draft in the next game. An exception is a health-threatening condition requiring emergency medical treatment.
If skiter opted to go for a bathroom break in their game vs ITB, Tundra Esports would suffer a lower bonus time during their next DPC game which would be against Team Secret on January 21. It seems like skiter didn’t want to cause his team any penalty and settled on the bottle instead.
Bathroom breaks across competitions
This strictness when it comes to bathroom breaks is common across competitions even outside of esports. The reason for this strict ruling is to not interrupt matches and prevent any chances of foul play. Cyclists that go through 100 km rides have stories of urinating whilst competing. So do footballers, who spend long hours on the field. American Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, had also admitted to peeing in the pool, stating it’s normal for swimmers as they don’t really get out to pee.
Tundra Esports now holds a comfortable 3-1 score to stand in second place in the WEU DPC. The team will play its next series against Team Secret, which is in a dire state as it holds a 0-4 scoreline and hovers in the relegation zone. Both teams will play each other on January 21.
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