EVO 2019 was a great event for everyone who attended. The best players from all over the world brought out some amazingly skilled performances and the crowd was as electrifying as always. However, things have turned quite sour at the end of it all.

Two women have said that they were sexually assaulted at the official EVO after-party hosted by Red Bull. A male attendee even reported that there was a drink containing a date rape drug given to his female friend. Thankfully, she didn’t drink it.

Taken from the EVO Twitter page.

The party was held at the HyperX Esports Arena which is situated at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. However, there was no entry fee and the party was open to anyone above the age of 21. It’s possible that some of the party-goers weren’t even people who knew about EVO.

One of the women who came forward to talk about what happened is Zorine Te who works as a marketing manager at esports consulting firm Player 2. She was sexually assaulted while attending the after-party and a fight had ensued after she tried confronting the man who assaulted her.

Nobody should ever feel unsafe for being a part of the FGC.
Last night during the Evo Red Bull after party, a man stuck his hand up my skirt and assaulted me. I turned to confront him, the guy got physically aggressive, and my friend jumped in to push him away. A fight ensued.

— Zorine ‘harli’ Te (@Zorine) August 5, 2019

In follow-up tweets, Te said that the assailant was escorted out by venue staff and that she was glad a friend was there to help her out.

The second incident happened to one of the tournament’s Mortal Kombat 11 players, Ana “SMGxPRINCESS” Black. Black reported that she was groped multiple times at the party. She explained that she refused to make any noise about it because she didn’t want to ruin the party.

I lost track of how many times I was groped at the Esports Arena Red Bull party last night. I didn’t make a big deal about it and just walked away bcz I didn’t want to ruin the night.

Keep your hands to yourself, or you’ll get one in your face next time.

— ♔ EQNX | 𝔸 𝕟 𝕒 ⚪ @EVO (@SMGxPrincessirl) August 5, 2019

Speaking to Kotaku, Black said that she had been groped while walking by “a group of men” and also after she declined to dance with a man. She said there was a small group of individual men who went around the party committing the awful deeds.

“Most of the people at the party were there to dance and have a good time, but there was a small group of individual men that would go around the room and touch any women they came close to,”

– Ana Black, in her interview with Kotaku.

Black went on to further note that she recognised most of the players in the FGC (Fighting Game Community) and that these men didn’t seem familiar. She stated that she didn’t speak to the event security staff because she didn’t want to make a scene and ruin the night.

The last and perhaps most frightening story comes from Tong Lee, an organiser of the CEO Gaming fighting games tournament. Lee said that he had passed out after taking a drink that was intended for a female friend of his.

I only had three drinks last night but I took a drink that was intended for a woman friend of mine and that’s the last thing I remember all night.

Definitely got roofied.

This shit is not ok.

What the fuck is wrong with people?

— Tong @ EVO (@TongNeverSleeps) August 5, 2019

In response to questions directed at his tweet, Lee has clarified that this happened at the Red Bull after-party and that it’s more common that people think. He believes that the issue doesn’t stem from the fact that the event is held in Las Vegas but rather that it’s a problem within the FGC.

Lee has warned his friends and the FGC to be more careful regardless of where they are and who they’re hanging out with.

“This was at an FGC event, the drink was given to a member of the FGC, from a member of the FGC. I want people to be careful regardless of what city they’re in, because it can happen anywhere.”

– Tong Lee, in a follow-up Tweet.

Lee says he knows who is responsible for the heinous actions but he doesn’t want to accuse without evidence. Investigations into the matter are currently being carried out.