This Valorant Stream Sniper Messed With The Wrong Player
Stream sniping is a real problem for many online competitive games. Ninja said he'd never stream "Fortnite" again after stream snipers ruined his fun and TimTheTatman has been mercilessly hunted by stream snipers while playing online. Sometimes these snipers do get caught in the act, though, and one stream sniper messed with the wrong player in "Valorant."
The concept of stream sniping is as straightforward as it is frustrating. Typically, a person will watch a streamer in order to know where they are on a game's map, then find and hunt that streamer. Streaming gives potential stream snipers knowledge about a gamer's whereabouts that they otherwise wouldn't have, providing an unfair advantage during competitive play.
Diaamond, a streamer with esports group Team Synergy, caught a stream sniper in action and bragged about making the front page of Reddit afterwards. Diaamond tweeted a clip of S2A, a streamer from YouTube, actively sniping while streaming. "He thinks I'm sniping because I flash banged him," S2A said in the clip. S2A also repeatedly looked over at a second monitor while streaming, leading many commenters to believe that he was indeed stream sniping by looking at a different screen containing Diaamond's stream.
In fact, S2A was stream sniping, and fans have noted that he proved it when he clicked out of "Valorant" to access Diaamond's stream. In other words, S2A played himself, and exposed his tactics for the entire internet to see. Unfortunately for S2A, once a misdeed like that gains traction online, it can be hard to stop the criticism.
Gamers come to Diaamond's defense
Commenters were quick to point out that S2A seems to stream snipe as a hobby. Content creator and former "CS:GO" pro Carolynn Noquez noted a file on S2A's desktop titled "I tilted vanity," which some have taken to mean that he likes to save clips of himself upsetting other streamers.
Another player claimed that S2A had participated in many of their "Valorant" matches, and had been caught cheating. While it hasn't been confirmed that S2A is a serial cheater, player testimonies seem to suggest that plenty of people have beef with him. One player even tried to explain why S2A's actions were bad, contacting the streamer directly via Discord. S2A allegedly responded by blaming Diaamond for the incident, saying that even though he admittedly kept Diaamond's stream open for a couple of rounds, Diaamond made it seem like he was sniping for the entire match.
S2A has been banned from Twitch for the incident, and it's unclear when or if he might return. This seems to be another case where a streamer who get caught cheating didn't get the outcome they were hoping for.