Ukrainian CS2 teams are massively facing technical losses in the ESEA League due to a complete electrical lockdown in the country. Power and internet outages make participation in matches virtually impossible, forcing rosters to forfeit or agree to technical losses. This directly affects their league positions, competitive prospects, and their chances of keeping a spot in the division.
Force majeure conditions of the war
The issue gained wide attention after Kyrylo Slaxer appealed to the administrations of ESEA and FACEIT. He explained that most players from his team and many other Ukrainian rosters are physically unable to play matches because of the lack of stable electricity and internet. Conditions in Ukraine do not allow teams to follow the league schedule even if there is a strong desire to continue the season.
According to Slaxer, Ukrainian teams are not asking for special privileges, but only ask not to be punished for circumstances that are completely beyond the players’ control. The main request is to preserve league slots for the next season for those rosters that are forced to forfeit matches not for sporting reasons, but because of the force majeure conditions of the war.
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Players’ perspective: bondik’s position
Slaxer’s words were confirmed by the players themselves, who face the situation directly during matches. The Ukrainian esports player bondik stated in an internal message to his team that they were forced to forfeit the match because several players had no electricity at all and their generators were almost completely discharged. He named the cause as a missile attack by Russia and emphasized that under such conditions it is physically impossible to continue playing.
This is an important clarification that changes the perception of the situation. This is not about household issues or unstable internet, but about the direct consequences of military actions. Even the presence of generators does not guarantee the ability to finish a match, since their resources are limited, and strikes on energy infrastructure make the situation completely unpredictable.
Thus, technical losses for Ukrainian teams today are not a matter of discipline or organization, but a forced decision under conditions of threats to basic infrastructure and safety.
Official response from ESEA
ESEA responded to the appeal by explaining its position as directly as possible. The platform acknowledged that the situation with unpredictable power outages indeed makes the competitive process extremely difficult for teams.
At the same time, the administration stated that it cannot introduce a universal rule for the automatic preservation of slots or for mandatory match postponements. The reason lies in the scale of the league: around three thousand teams worldwide, to which the rules must be applied equally and fairly. According to them, every week players in different regions face electricity outages, internet issues, or other problems, and creating a global exception opens the door to schedule manipulation.
In the current season, ESEA advises using the available tools: negotiating match rescheduling directly with opponents or using stand-ins if part of the roster is unavailable.
At the same time, the platform confirmed its readiness to review each case individually after the season ends. If a team’s participation was significantly disrupted due to extraordinary circumstances, ESEA promises to discuss options for preserving status and league placement while taking the context into account.
The position of the Ukrainian community
After ESEA’s response, the Ukrainian and international communities actively supported Slaxer’s appeal. Players, organizations, and media figures joined the discussion, including NAVI, Monte, Passion UA, FAVBET Team, and others.
Bondik’s words became one of the key arguments in this discussion. They clearly showed that Ukrainian teams are not “looking for excuses,” but are forced to make decisions under missile strikes and complete power outages. For most amateur and semi-professional rosters, the situation is even worse, since they do not have generators, backup power, or stable infrastructure.
ESEA’s position between rules and war
Formally, ESEA’s position looks logical: any global league cannot create rules that are difficult to apply equally to all regions. But the words of bondik and Slaxer show that the situation in Ukraine is not an ordinary technical failure. It is a consequence of war and targeted strikes on civilian infrastructure.
Therefore, individual case reviews after the season look not like a full solution, but like a compromise between the platform’s formal logic and the reality in which Ukrainian teams exist.
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Complete electrical lockdown
Ukrainian teams in ESEA have found themselves in a situation where sporting results no longer depend on the level of play. A complete electrical lockdown forces them to forfeit matches and lose positions in the league through no fault of their own.
Bondik’s statement about the absence of electricity, almost discharged generators, and the impossibility of continuing the game due to missile strikes clearly demonstrates that this is not about minor technical issues, but about the direct consequences of war.
ESEA acknowledges the problem but is not ready to introduce a general rule for preserving slots, limiting itself to a promise of individual case reviews after the season. For the Ukrainian scene, this means a period of total uncertainty, where the struggle is not for rankings and victories, but for the very right to remain within the competitive CS system.
