Tea-bagging is a term used in gaming to describe the action of crouching repeatedly on a dead opponent’s body, generally in the face, as a form of “bad manners”. Bad manners, usually shortened to “BM” is the act of doing something in a game that is seen as unnecessary, and in bad taste. Despite BM’s negative connotation, it is something that many gamers
grew up doing, dating back to old Call of Duty and Halo games, and it has become a normal part of competitive video game culture. Naturally, BMing made its way into esports, with tea-bagging specifically being the go-to in the first-person shooter genre.
On the 6th of March during a game between G2 esports and DfuseTeam in Champions Tour Europe, an admin requested that the teams do not teabag during the match.
This was not taken well by the community, with even G2’s founder "Ocelote" chiming in:
It is unclear how far up the chain of command the request came from, with no official statement from Riot on the matter. However, it is clear why Riot would not want BM as graphic as tea-bagging in their esport. As mentioned in my previous post, Riot’s plan with Valorant, as evident in almost every aspect of the game, is to be a major esport. Tea-bagging is not a sponsor-friendly action, and Riot should be doing everything they can to remove e it from the esport’s culture.
In traditional sports, BM is often punishable by a fine to the player or team, and I think we will see a similar set of rules implemented and enforced in Valorant.