Credit: Jessica Jiamin Lang

The Ottawa Black Bears and Rochester Whiteout have both formally forfeited their spots in the 2016 MLQ Championship in League City, Texas on Aug. 20-21.

In response to the two forfeits, The MLQ Gameplay Department took into consideration the following factors: proximity to championship; impact on the remaining teams; preservation of the tournament’s integrity; and expectations of the gameplay format that has been set to the public.

Therefore, the MLQ Gameplay Department has decided that the two forfeits will impact the MLQ Championship in the following ways:

• Ottawa and Rochester will be moved to the fourth pot in each of their pods and will automatically receive losses for all games until they are eliminated from the tournament.
• All other aspects of the tournament structure will remain the same.

“We currently have 10 players who are physically fit and financially able to attend the MLQ Championship,” said Black Bears Manager Katie Sharpe. “We feel, as a management team, that this number is too low for the team to safely compete in the tournament.”

The Black Bears finished the regular season with an 0-9 record in the East Division. Rochester Whiteout finished with a record of 7-2 in the North Division.

“We had a very successful regular season,” said Whiteout Manager Patrick Callanan. “However, due to a number of circumstances, it is not feasible for us to field a team for the MLQ Championship. I would like to thank all the fans that have supported us this season and wish all teams competing the best of luck.”

MLQ will be collecting information on an individual basis from athletes on Ottawa and Rochester to identify how the league can prevent these forfeitures in the future. For additional questions relating to the above or other MLQ matters, contact [email protected].