Both Capcom and Infiltration’s sponsor Panda Global speak out on Infiltration’s competitive status.
Over the past few months we haven’t seen or heard much directly from Seon-woo “Infiltration” Lee — the storied Street Fighter competitor has been embroiled in domestic abuse allegations in South Korea, which ultimately resulted in his sponsor Panda Global benching the player while an investigation was conducted. Infiltration voluntarily stepped away from streaming and competing during this period. Now, the sponsor has just published a video statement to social media that outlines their position on the situation; in this video Panda Global founder and CEO Alan Bunney details the charges, Infiltration’s profession of innocence, and the process and results of their own investigation:
As stated above, Panda Global has terminated their sponsorship relationship with Infiltration, and he has willingly withdrawn from Street Fighter V competition in the Capcom Pro Tour for both the remainder of 2018 and all of 2019. Seon-woo Lee plans to use the time away from competition to clear his legal record before returning to the game.
Capcom has issued their own statement on the Capcom Pro Tour website regarding Infiltration’s departure from the 2018/2019 CPT, which echoes Panda Global’s statement:
Having reviewed the relevant documents, we have ascertained that although some of the current allegations circulating are inaccurate, there is veracity to one indictment resulting from a domestic dispute on October 22, 2017, which involved a physical altercation between “Infiltration” and his then wife. This has been documented and a fine was paid by “Infiltration” in acknowledgment of the charge.
While this incident did not happen during a Capcom Pro Tour event, we do not condone any acts of violence or harassment. We want to ensure that Capcom Pro Tour provides a safe, inviting environment focused on healthy competition, with an expectation for a baseline code of conduct.
As a result of our evaluation, we felt it necessary to take appropriate disciplinary action against “Infiltration.” In speaking with Panda Global and “Infiltration,” he understands the circumstances of our review and conclusion. In acknowledgment of a first offense, he has voluntarily withdrawn himself from competition for the agreed upon period of the rest of the 2018 Capcom Pro Tour season, including Capcom Cup Finals this year, and the full 2019 CPT season. A second offense will result in a lifetime ban from participating in all future Capcom Pro Tour events.
Read the full statement here. This is of course means that Infiltration will not be competing in this year’s Capcom Cup finale, for which he was already qualified with a global rank of 11 on the CPT leaderboard. Capcom has stated his withdrawal will count as a disqualification, and the standings will be adjusted up accordingly after his removal:
As of November 15, 2018, “Infiltration” was ranked #11 in the global standings for the 2018 Capcom Pro Tour season. All players on the global ranking leaderboard below this rank will move up one position as we are considering his withdrawal the equivalent of a disqualification.
UPDATE: Additional material and Infiltration’s statement via Panda Global’s Twitter:
Infiltration has asked us to share his statement publicly: pic.twitter.com/RnguhqcXRZ
— Panda Global (@PandaGlobal) November 15, 2018
Sources: Panda Global; Capcom Pro Tour
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