SIBOL sanctioned Liquid ECHO's Sanford "SanFord" Vinuya with a two-year ban on participating in any national team activities.
Five days after the conclusion of MPL Philippines Season 13, national esports team SIBOL announced there would be two teams invited for the selection process heading towards the International Esports Federation (IESF) World Esports Championship 2024.
Those were MPL-PH Season 13 runners-up Falcons AP.Bren and third placers RSG Philippines.
By June 2, SIBOL announced the national team selection for the men's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament was down to four: RRQ Kaito, FCAP Bren, RV Fryd Esports, and Smart Omega.
This sparked some questions. Where are the MPL PH Season 13 champions Liquid ECHO?
During a YouTube livestream on Tuesday, Liquid ECHO's Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno clarified the matter. They decided to sit out this year’s qualifiers due to a ban imposed on Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya, who declined participating for the national team.
"Wala kami sa SIBOL guys kasi na-ban si [San] Ford," KarlTzy revealed.
"Na-ban si [San] Ford guys kaya hindi na kami natuloy. Hindi [dahil] sa age. Na-ban siya kasi tinanggihan niya yung last offer sa kanya guys. 'Di ba nanalo ‘yung Bren sa SIBOL, sa IESF? Siya kasi dapat ‘yung EXP [laner] doon. Tapos tinanggihan niya, so na-ban siya ng one year," he explained.
KarlTzy emphasized that there were factors that they had to take into account.
"Hindi kasalanan ni [San] Ford, siya lang mag-isa eh. Ongoing 'yung MPL noon, so mahahati ‘yung practice namin nun. Siya lang mag-isa ‘yung kukunin eh, eh 'di mawawalan kami ng EXP lane kapag sumali siya nung sa last SIBOL. Kaya ni-reject niya talaga," he said.
It wasn't just a year though. In a statement shared with the MPL Philippines Press Corps, SIBOL general manager Jab Escutin explained the decision to sanction Sanford with a two-year ban effective from February 2023 until February 2025.
"Sanford Vinuya denied the privilege to serve his country, solely based on the reason that his entire team (which lost the qualifier) was not selected to represent the country, saying that it will affect his team's performance in the upcoming tournaments," the statement read.
"We strongly advise individual athletes not to participate in the qualifiers if they only plan to serve their country if things go their way or have special conditions that hinders the opportunity of others to participate and serve the country," the statement added.
"Therefore, yes, Sanford Vinuya is banned from participating in any SIBOL activities," Escutin confirmed.
SIBOL typically selects the members of the national team via the combine.
For the IESF 2024, the best team composition will be determined from the top four teams in the combine: RRQ Kaito, Falcons AP.Bren, RV FRYD Esports, and Smart Omega.
The IESF will be held in Saudi Arabia later this November.
Meanwhile, Liquid ECHO and FCAP Bren will also be preparing for the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) also slated in Riyadh from June 28 to July 14.