On the 19th of August, during the playoff series between 'Team Dignitas' and 'Cloud9', a sudden "pause" was made and Jensen was missing from his spot.

Many fans grew worried because, on the broadcast screen, the cause of the pause was listed as a "medical" request. When the case was revealed as an emergency bathroom break, the fans released a sigh of relief, just as fans did with the bathroom incident of Juventus' goalkeeper, Gianluigi, and deemed the whole thing relatively insignificant. 

On the very next day, however, the same mishap happened over in EU when 'Trick' from G2 requested a pause for a bathroom break. As the same issue saw repetition, fans started speculating that the breaks could be abused - used tactically to sever the adrenaline and the momentum the enemy team may have; or to give the person who paused and his team a moment to catch a breath.

It's true that a rule is set in place for in-game pauses, and therefore, players aren't able to speak with anyone during it. But it's definitely questionable, as the "flow" of the game is put to an immediate halt and fans are left wondering what's going on. This is especially the case in the NA LCS because their regulations regarding bathroom pauses are similar to that of the LCK - players who request for a bathroom pause receive no penalty whatsoever. 

In light of this, we asked a question. Were there any regulations regarding "bathroom pauses" in other games such as StarCraft? And if that's the case, how did the regulation see refinement over time? Here are a couple of historical pauses that happened in the course of Korean esports history.

1. 'Kang-Min'(Nal_rA) Mucus Incident - StarCraft(2002 KPGA Tour)

Many fans in Korea say that the most baffling pause in the history of esports happened during a game hosted by 'GemBC', and it is marked as the most embarrassing moment for Kang-Min, a previous StarCraft pro and OGN caster.

During the game, Nal_rA made a sudden in-game pause. "Maybe he has mouse issues" and "I think there was an in-game bug," were some common guesses. Casters at the time made many predictions, trying to figure out what was going on. But their predictions were completely off, as the player paused the game to blow his runny nose. When the casters and fans caught up and saw the whole thing unfold, they all cried out in laughter. 

At the time, esports wasn't as developed as it is now, so the whole incident was deemed a "fun" happening that didn't spawn any major debates. But no one knew that this was just the beginning.

2. 'Jo Jeong-Hyeon'(VGundam) WC Incident - StarCraft(Neowiz Pimang Proleague 2003)

If the 'Nal_rA' incident was the very first pause made for a reason completely irrelevant to the game, VGundam's WC incident was the very first pause made for an emergency bathroom break.

When StarCraft started launching its team-based leagues, a player known as 'VGundam' in 'AMD Dreamteam'(Known today as 'eSTRO'), played a game against 'Toona SG's' 'GoodFriend'. But not long after the game began, it was paused. Many fans were left wondering until they saw the in-game chat right before VGundam stormed out from the stage. In chat, right before his sudden departure, VGundam typed in "wc"(Water Closet). Fans found out that he was in dire need to use the bathroom. 

The whole incident was embarrassing for VGundam, but it didn't just end there. In a way, some fans noticed the potential problems such pauses can bring. And in response, a new official rule was set in place. "If there are no special reasons, players are prohibited from pausing the game on their own."


3. Wraith's Bathroom Pause - League of Legends(2015 SBENU LCK Spring)

The trend of bathroom pauses continued into League of Legends.

On the 11th of April 2015, in a series between 'Samsung' and 'Najin e-mFire', Wraith made a pause request for a bathroom break during a losing game. The regulations set in place for LCK at the time, allowed referees to judge whether or not a player could pause the game for a physiological reason. In the case for Wraith, he received a warning, but the referee allowed him to go.

Such incidents weren't common in League of Legends at the time, so it didn't stir up any trouble for Wraith. But 2 months later, a similar incident occurred and it put Wraith back in the spotlight.

4. Space's Bathroom Pause - League of Legends(2015 SBENU LCK Summer)

A little under 2 months after Wraith's incident, another bathroom pause happened in the LCK. 

This particular incident garnered lots of attention, especially because it happened during a very important game, the 3rd game in a Bo3 that would decide the winner between 'CJ Entus' and 'kt Rolster'. About 40 minutes into the game, right before a Baron fight, a sudden in-game pause was made. The reason for the pause was because Space had to use the bathroom.

After Space's return, CJ stole the Baron from KT and the result of the game ended in CJ's favor. 

After this incident, many debates rose up from multiple online communities. "I saw the players discussing something when the game was paused." The regulation set in place for pauses prohibited players from speaking with one another during it; but in the broadcast, fans saw the players discussing.

Sometime later, the recordings from the CJ booth were thoroughly reviewed, but the conversations made were deemed irrelevant to the game and no actions were taken against the players. However, many people made complaints that the rules set in place should be enforced; as the penalty seemed insufficient. 

But the rules still remain relatively the same today.


5. CuVee's Bathroom Pause - League of Legends(2017 LCK Summer Split)

After the incident with Space in 2015, further bathroom-related issues ceased to happen. It was mainly because players started thoroughly preparing before games to avoid being the center of attention in pause-related discourse.

But very recently, during the LCK Summer playoffs, right before SSG fell to SKT with a score of 0-3, CuVee paused the game to use the bathroom. The only differing element that this incident has compared to the previous two is that SSG lost in the end.

There's also a very fun fact regarding these pauses in the LCK. All the players that had to run for the toilet have close relations with Ambition. Wraith and CuVee are currently on the same team with Ambition, and Space was also on the same team with Ambition during his time in CJ. As a matter of fact, Ambition was playing in 2 of those 3 games that had a pause. In regards to this, fans started joking that "the thought of getting beat by Ambition and his bat made all of these players lose control of their bowels." 

CuVee's pause was overlooked because it didn't affect the game in any major way, but in many different communities, people questioned the professionalism of CuVee, wondering why he couldn't solve his need to use the bathroom before the game. And on the very next week, the same pause was made in NA and EU LCS, making the whole ordeal even more suspicious.

There are reasons why the recent pauses gained so much attention. When a game begins, time-outs are prohibited in esports, so that players can't use it as a tactical means to discuss their strategy for the current game they're in. Therefore, a pause will always look suspicious no matter what. Also, the current regulation set in place for pauses has a loophole that can be utilized and abused by players and teams alike.

The recent bathroom pauses... they may simply be overlooked as funny moments, but rules regarding it should definitely see refinement for the future.