The AT&T Streamer Tournament descended into chaos during a Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 match when Tyler1 on Ludwig’s team began deliberately killing themselves immediately after spawning. This dramatic protest came after their opponents, led by FPS pro TenZ, allegedly attempted to farm kills against Ludwig’s less experienced squad to maximize their point total in the tournament standings.
The tournament features prominent content creators and professional gamers competing across multiple titles for a prize pool of up to $250,000. Teams earn points based on both match victories and individual performance metrics like kill counts, a system that created a controversial incentive to prolong matches against weaker opponents.
TenZ’s team, recognizing their significant advantage in shooter games, reportedly discussed and implemented a strategy to extend gameplay and rack up as many kills as possible against the opposing team. When Ludwig’s team, which included Squeex, Emiru, and Agent00, caught wind of this approach—they responded by immediately killing themselves upon spawn, denying their opponents the opportunity to accumulate additional points.
“Obviously this was against the spirit of the tournament,” explained one viewer who witnessed the incident, “so Ludwig’s team started killing themselves the moment they spawned to lose immediately.”
The controversy pointed to real problems with how the tournament was being run. Teams had reportedly been warned against point farming tactics for the sake of “competitive integrity,” but these rules were inconsistently enforced across different game titles.
Several participants expressed frustration over poor communication from tournament organizers. While some teams received direct messages about rule updates, others—including Ludwig’s squad—were allegedly left in the dark about which weapons and strategies were permitted under the tournament’s adaptation of competitive Call of Duty rules.
What went down had big consequences for the final standings. Ludwig’s team ultimately missed out on a higher tournament placing by just a single point, costing them a shot at a larger prize payout.
