XinSaiEsports, the tournament organizer behind the XPL Guangzhou 2026, has released a public statement addressing a series of operational failures that plagued the group stage of the event.
Day one failures and a day two power outage
The organization admitted to being inadequately prepared for technical problems on the opening day of the tournament. The organizer takes full responsibility for the negative impact these issues had on both the competing teams and the viewing experience. While the problems from the first day were reportedly fixed by the second day, a power outage caused an interruption during the final match of day two. The statement notes that the final three days of the group stage proceeded with only minor delays.
Addressing community rumors and a hacked account
The statement clarifies several rumors that surfaced online during the event. Reports regarding tournament computers missing Counter-Strike 2 installations were attributed to a faulty SSD, which was later fixed. The organizer also acknowledged that communication breakdowns and unnecessary delays stemmed from insufficient preparation.
The most severe incident involved BetBoom’s Kirill “Magnojez” Rodnov’s Steam account being hacked during the event. The XSE team confirmed the account has been completely recovered with its inventory intact. In response to the security breach, affected systems were wiped and reinstalled, additional training room PCs were replaced, and the lead admin responsible for the area was dismissed from their position.
Desk space and broadcast quality
Player complaints regarding desk depth were also confirmed. Players with extremely forward arm positions could not be accommodated by the original setups.
XSE states this issue is now resolved. The poor quality of the English broadcast was directly linked to the technical problems on the first day and has since been corrected.
Finally, XinSaiEsports addressed screenshots circulating online regarding volunteer recruitment. The organizer clarified that these posts were unofficial. All production staff are employed under paid labor agreements, while volunteers are strictly utilized for peripheral event operations. The organizer expressed a commitment to delivering a better experience for the upcoming playoffs and earning back the trust of the fans.
