Harvard University is one of the most respected educational institutes in the United States, with a storied history that stretches all the way back to the mid-17th century. It has produced eight US Presidents, more than any other school in the country, and has one of the top Nobel Laureate affiliation rates in the world. And it was just kicked out of the Heroes of the Dorm tournament for cheating.
A “Team Disqualifications” notice posted on the Heroes of the Dorm website says a player on Harvard's Team Ambush was sharing his account with another, higher-rated player who wasn't on the roster during official tournaments. That's basically the same as putting nose glasses on David Price and having him pitch for your beer league team, and as you might imagine, it's a big no-no.
“We have zero tolerance for cheating in our tournaments. The rules are in place to ensure a fair playing field for all participants—when these rules are abused, they put the integrity of the competition at risk. The students found to be sharing their Battle.net accounts and the players with whom they were sharing will be banned indefinitely from participation in any future Tespa tournaments,” Blizzard wrote. “In addition, Blizzard Entertainment will be taking disciplinary actions against the Battle.net accounts involved.”
This actually isn't the first time that a school has been kicked out of the tourney for underhanded shenanigans. Yahoo! Esports says University of Connecticut's team was given the boot last year because one of its players wasn't registered for the spring semester. This year seems to be going a little better for the UConn Tricky Turtles, which is carrying a perfect record into a Super Sixteen match-up against Ohio State's Third String.
With Harvard out, the Golden Mishas from from UC Berkeley and Team Tilt from Indiana-Purdue will do battle to see who gets the now-vacant slot in the Super Sixteen round, which is set to begin tomorrow at 9 am ET. The notice also states that the Hot Boys from University of Michigan was disqualified in the Round of 64 for similar reasons, and will face similar punishment.
