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GamingImperialHal Furious After Controller Banned 12 Hours Before Apex Legends Champs
Apex Legends GOAT Philip “ImperialHal” Dosen was given almost no notice before ALGS Champs in Sapporo, Japan, that his controller was banned from competition, forcing him to get a new controller at the very last minute.
As Apex Legends has evolved, the need for regulations on player devices has increased, particularly for controllers. While crackdowns on devices like XIMs are already fairly strict for the online version of the game, LAN rules are even stricter.
Less than a day before ALGS Champs, ImperialHal was notified that his controller was banned from competition. Despite his not using the features that resulted in the peripheral getting banned, the fact that they’re on the controller in the first place was enough for him to be barred from competing with it.
What’s more, Hal had only 12 hours of notice for the ban, requiring him to think fast and come up with a solution.
Why Did ImperialHal’s Controller Get Banned?
Hal was using the ZD Ultimate Legend, a highly modular controller with numerous extra buttons and bumpers to give him the edge. However, extra buttons aren’t banned, and a multitude of modified controllers are tournament-legal. So what makes this one special?
The main reason it was banned is the ability to bind macros. Binding independent buttons on a controller is legal, but making it so that one button can perform multiple functions is not. And, because there’s no way to disable that function, there’s no way for him to prove he isn’t using it. Thus, it violates tournament rules.
While the reason for the ban is valid, the period of notice that Hal had is something he was very vocal about his displeasure with:
“My controller gets banned the day before a 2 million dollar tournament. Gotta be a joke surely,” followed by, “EWC MULTIPLE PLAYERS PLAYED ON A CONTROLLER WITH THE SAME REASONS IT IS BANNED NOW AND WAS RAN BY ALGS BUT WASN’T BANNED THEN BUT NOW ITS BANNED.”
Fortunately for Hal, it didn’t slow him down. Falcons was the point leader for day 1, and he was absolutely frying everyone. Putting up MVP numbers is one thing, but doing it with a brand-new controller is another.
After Day 1, Hal was leading the whole tournament statistically and ensuring his Falcons team were at the top of their game.
There’s still a long tournament ahead, but Hal is clearly still in it to win. He hasn’t let the controller issues slow him down by any stretch.
