In the aftermath of Team of the Year 2017, FIFA Ultimate Team’s experienced a bit of drama the likes of which we haven’t seen since last summer’s “Chemistrygate” controversy in which it was revealed any card released after launch was playing at a fixed chemistry rate of five regardless of position/links.
On Tuesday, a competitive FIFA player unveiled a glitch he claimed to have tested across all platforms which causes a player to be able to force a disconnect in-game and not be charged with a loss. With such a tactic, it’d theoretically be possible to exit out of any match you weren’t going to win. On Thursday morning, a second glitch appearing to cause a loss for others (at least on PlayStation 4) also saw the light of day.
With EA Sports at least aware of the first — a source told us they were working to address it — the question remained how the FIFA 17 production team would handle the controversy and how it might impact remaining qualification and this weekend’s competition. Adding to the intrigue, the month of January in FUT Champions’ Weekend League is designated “Season 2” for qualifying for the various regionals around the world, meaning the top players in each geographic region would use their results to qualify for a massive high cash reward in-person tournament featuring a shot to advance to a FUT world championship.
During a riveting 10 minute stretch early this afternoon, a message stating “COMPETITION CLOSED” appeared when you went into FUT Champions for around 6 minutes:
— Marshall (@Marshall89HD) January 19, 2017
While qualifying reopened around 12:46 p.m. ET (5:46 p.m. GMT), this weekend’s Weekend League fully disappeared from the game mode’s schedule then:
WL for this weekend is gone. You can now qualify for NEXT weekend WL. So EA have 1 week to fix the glitch. pic.twitter.com/ndFgZhgAjC
— NepentheZ (@NepentheZ) January 19, 2017
Monthly rewards’ requirements also changed:
Monthlies have changed too pic.twitter.com/YHwnXPlgl6
— Marshall (@Marshall89HD) January 19, 2017
At the time of publish, last weekend’s weekly rewards still haven’t been issued either (UPDATE: They were released Thursday, January 19 around 6 p.m. ET). They’d been issued each Wednesday evening since this past October. As EA have always stuck to a “rewards go out before the start of the following Weekend League” line, technically they’ll now have until next weekend, pending any further changes, to address the glitch(es), filter out potential cheaters, and issue those.
Many fans were initially frustrated feeling as though they were waiting in the dark to hear definitively. Since Chu Morah, aka Chu Boi, left EA to pursue a career as a professional FIFA streamer, EA’s struggled to be consistently transparent in their communications. The latest controversy surrounding the so-called no-loss glitch and the subsequent alteration of The Weekend League is the latest chapter of keeping the most dedicated Ultimate Team players left to wonder what’s going on.
EA issued the following statement around 10 minutes after the changes in-game, clarifying that this weekend’s Weekend League is definitively canceled:
Hey FIFA fans,
As part of our commitment to keep FUT Champions the most fair and fun place to compete, we are cancelling this week’s FUT Champions Weekend League while we address some technical issues. You can see the updated FUT Champions schedule in the FUT Champions HUB.
If you had already qualified for this week’s FUT Champions Weekend League, your qualification will carry over to next week.
In addition, qualification for the Ultimate Team Championship Series will be based on Weekends 1, 2, and 4 within January.
Thanks,
The FIFA Team
Now to wait and see what’s next.