ILIAS Disqualified From TWT N&E Africa Regionals Over Residency Rules

Bandai Namco Esports announced a player disqualification. This time, the ruling was for ILIAS, a Moroccan national who had been competing in both EU and North African events throughout the year. He was officially disqualified from the regional top spot from the North & East Africa regional leaderboard because he did not reside in the region itself.

Potentially making matters worse for ILIAS, he clarified in a follow-up post on social media that he had lied to the circuit administrators after being made aware of their inquiries over his residency. Bandai Namco Esports did not confirm whether that was a factor in extending his punishment beyond a 2024 disqualification to ban him from participating in 2025's TWT.

This becomes the second ban of this year's TWT circuit, as earlier this month, Chinese player XCC was also disqualified from the competition. Bandai Namco did issue a follow-up statement in that case to allow for an added qualifier for Chinese nationals closer to the TWT finals date.