Why was TSM ZexRow so angry with Aimhero_o at ESL Katowice Royale?

The Fortnite ESL Katowice Royale event operated with plenty of controversy as player’s encountered problem after problem in-game. However, one point that stuck out was the beef between Team SoloMid’s Anthony ‘ZexRow’ Colandro and Jeong ‘Aimhero_o’ Hyun-chul of OP Gaming over landing spots.

ZexRow, playing alongside his partner Vinny1x, led the Duos portion of the event after the first day and headed into day two with a hefty points lead.

However, the TSM pair, widely recognized as one of the best in the world, were immediately under fire from the Korean squad of AimHero and his partner Park ‘FaxFox’ Sung-Bin as they began heading to the same landing as the North American team, Viking Village, where they had been alone for the prior games. 

The ESL Katowice Royale marked a major international tournament for the Fortnite competitive scene

After going back-and-forth for the majority of the second day over the spot, the TSM boys eventually lost their top spot and fell down the standings. 

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In since-deleted tweets, ZexRow accused the Korean team of ‘griefing’ for contesting his squad’s main landing spot.

ZexRow’s deleted tweet accusing the Korean team of griefing.

The Korean also received some hate from fans for continuing to test ZexRow and his partner Vinny. 

He used Twitter to explain his team’s thinking, dropping at Viking Village because of how free the TSM pair had the area – not that they were griefing or any of the other accusations thrown their way.

In a further since-deleted tweet, ZexRow did step in to tell his fans to stop being ‘toxic’ towards Aimhero, while jokingly stating that he was the only one allowed to be ‘toxic’ with the situation.

After receiving further tweets about what had happened, Aimhero later stated that he had studied TSM while rising through the ranks of professional Fortnite, and had no intention to grief them. 

ZexRow has since apologized for his outburst that had caused the Korean pro to receive an large amount of criticism from fans of the player and the organization he represents. 

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He tweeted: “Ok, so obviously I took it to far and got way too upset but you guys would understand if you were in my position.

“I just need to stop making impulsive tweets so don’t expect any more drama.”

A number of pros also weighed in on the drama by speaking out about the idea of players ‘owning’ a certain landing spot.

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Counter Logic Gaming’s Nick ‘Marksman’ Overtown tweeted that he had contested Team Liquid’s Noah ‘Vivid’ Wright at Junk Junction in an earlier event, but apologized for doing so. However, his apology was in vain as Vivid explained that he, or anybody, doesn’t ‘own’ a landing spot because it’s a battle royale game.

Team Liquid’s Jake ‘Poach’ Brumleve replied to that tweet, stating: “There is no such thing as owning a spot. However, earning a spot is. Learning when to leave/try something new is important. Otherwise, you are just ruining each other’s games.”

ZexRow may have since apologized to his fellow pro, but the battle over landing spots is sure to continue into the next Fortnite events – especially the highly lucrative World Cup.

Wheter or not Epic Games steps in to make a ruling on the early gameplay in competitive Fortnite remains to be seen. However, pros could always go the Call of Duty route and make gentlemen agreements on who will land where and whatnot.