FaZe Dubs Breaks His Silence On Recent Fortnite Ban
A few days ago, the news broke that controversial Fortnite player FaZe Dubs had apparently been caught cheating during a Fortnite Solo Cash Cup. The fandom was up in arms over the whole thing, with many people wondering why FaZe Dubs hadn't issued a statement in his defense. Finally, FaZe Dubs has broken his silence on the matter.
According to players watching the match in question, it appeared as though FaZe Dubs had teamed up with another player, Waffles. The two were seen landing in almost identical spots and keeping away from one another, taking out other enemies in the match. For most viewers, it appeared as though the two had colluded with one another, agreeing to help each other take out the competition to secure their spots in the rankings. Since then, the two players have had their scores removed from the Fortnite leaderboards. However, there hadn't been any official word regarding what kind of repercussions were in store.
FaZe Dubs has confirmed that he was given a 30 day suspension from Fortnite for the incident. Rather than simply talk about the situation, however, FaZe Dubs decided to team up with Cbass for a stream. The two scrubbed through video of FaZe Dubs' gameplay as FaZe Dubs explained the situation from his point of view.
In a clip of the stream, FaZe Dubs went through his usual process. He explained to viewers that he pretty much uses the same path and tactics during matches so that he can maximize the amount of loot he gets. According to FaZe Dubs, he has been following the same early game strategy for around two months.
"I've been literally landing here and doing this exact loot path for, like, literally the past two months, I would say. Like, just scrimming, right? So, I just land [at] the same building every game, do the same loot path, same rotations, every game ... So I always do this," he explained. "So, I always start by gliding down, scouting for, uh, Tina, because she has the key card ... I always get the key card and then go straight to the Vault. So, like, this is my loot path."
FaZe Dubs also contends that Waffles wasn't following him, nor were they communicating on where each other was heading. Instead, it seems that he believes that Waffles was adopting a bit of FaZe Dubs' strategy and modifying it a bit. For instance, in a second clip, FaZe Dubs noted that Waffles' main strategy appears to be looting as much as he can right at the top of a match and then waiting things out for as long as he can.
"I would honestly play it like he's playing," he says. "I would really sit and farm, and wait until I know the person left the Vault and left it all, like, looted ... because I know there's going to be extra loot."
To illustrate his point, FaZe Dubs backs up the video and pauses it on a moment where he's come across a ton of useful items and weapons that have been left behind by other looters. He points out, "Okay, look: heavy sniper, six minis, eedkits, bandage bazooka. Literally, everything you need, like, to win a game, you can secondhand loot and get from a Vault ... This is a strat I'm sure people do."
Naturally, it appears as though the Fortnite fandom is extremely divided on whether or not FaZe Dubs is innocent. Some fans commended Cbass for joining the stream in defense of FaZe Dubs. As one fan tweeted, "You're a good dude bro. You stepped in and explained clearly any situation people might misconstrue against dubs. Especially for the casuals that don't understand fortnite competitive."
One fan maintained that FaZe Dubs was innocent, arguing that he's too talented to have to cheat. "Imagine this guy gets accused of cheating twice because he is so good," they wrote.
At least one person actually had their opinions on the situation changed by the stream. They decided, "he didn't cheat, I thought he did before but after watching the full stream it's clear he didn't."
It's also worth noting that the length of the suspension will prove to be a sticking point for some people. A few commenters have appeared to be disappointed that the suspension isn't longer.
The inconsistent length of suspensions and bans in Fortnite has been the subject of much debate in recent months. Back in March, four professional players were handed a 60-day ban for teaming during a Fortnite Champion Series game. Meanwhile, 9 year old streamer Zenon was given a heavy four year ban for joining a game underage, even with adult supervision. This latest scandal appears to be dredging up the same old debates regarding Epic Games' seemingly inconsistent policies.