Fountain - Over the weekend, the alliance Ev0ke won the 5th Alliance Tournament with a dramatic and exciting win over Triumvirate. Today, they were publicly congratulated by the Serpentis, the organization they pledged their support to.
"Good show, Ev0ke boys," said Brynn Jerdola, a high-ranking Serpentis officer. "It just goes to show that representing the Serpentis is the way to get ahead in the world."
"I'd love to kick back and take some Drop with one of them," joked Cormack Vaaja, another ranking officer. "Only in a safe station though. Don't want to get into a fight over my modified equipment."
V. Salvador Sarpati, the leader and CEO of the Serpentis organization, made a rare public appearance to congratulate the winning pilots. "Truly, it makes Serpentis proud to be the beneficiaries of the support of someone like Ev0ke. Of course, I knew from the beginning that you would pull it out. After all, last year, HUN Reloaded supported us and we all saw how well they did, pulling off the upset. I don't think that's just coincidence!"
Some have called for reforms in the tournament because of this revelation. "Quite frankly, the fact that a Serpentis supporter has won twice in a row should raise red flags," said a poster on the official tournament information portal, identified only as Janus. "They should really take a look at that."
Most dismiss such suggestions as "paranoid conspiracy theories with no basis in reality." However, that has not stopped them from considering the moral implications. "We have people declaring their support for pirates, terrorists, and other illegal groups," said Dexim Stun, a political analyst. "Does that really send the right message? Especially consider that the Bank of Luminaire is one of the financial sponsors of the tournament. Does this really look good for them? Do their investors and clients think that the publicity that accompanies supporting the tournament really outweighs the negative stigma attached with the tournament winners supporting a criminal organization?"
The Bank of Luminaire issued a "No comment" when asked for a response. The tournament committee stated it has no plans as of yet to change how things are run, but notes that they are open to change if it is required.