These Banned Valorant Pros Are Facing Serious Accusations
"Valorant" doesn't play around when it comes to players using the game for ill-gained profit. Earlier in 2021, a financially motivated scandal got some "Valorant" pros banned for three years, and now Riot Games is prepared to do the same thing again — this time with a group of Turkish players involved in a money-laundering scam.
The Twitch leak that left some accounts in serious danger also had the unintentional repercussion of putting many streamers' businesses on display. According to Dexerto, several Turkish "Valorant" pros' Twitch data showed inconsistent revenue based on their viewership. Riot Turkey was expected to ban the players, but it appeared that the issue might be more widespread than initially thought, with approximately 300 streamers participating in the scam.
Some of the streamers involved explained that they didn't know what they were doing. For example, one of those implicated, Farewell, tweeted that he had no idea he was participating in illegal activity, saying that he stopped his involvement with the scam as soon as he discovered what was happening.
However, one streamer implicated in the scandal recently spoke out about the issue, admitting that he was involved in the plan.
CNed admits involvement
CNed might not be a household name in the States, but in Turkey he's an established professional gamer, with big tournament wins in "Valorant." CNed took to a livestream to speak directly with fans about the alleged scandal and his involvement in it. He admitted that he knowingly participated in the money-making plan, but that he never directly spoke to the person in charge of the operation. "He talked with my older brother..." CNed said (translation via Upcomer). "That guy sent me the bits, the bits transferred to me. I didn't report those bits to Twitch, I acknowledge that. I didn't report to Twitch and took the money. I repeat once again, the guy did not contact me. I acknowledge that even though I did not intend to, technically I got involved in this, unfortunately." CNed also stated that the person behind the plan threatened to shut down his channel by donating too many bits if CNed did not split the money with him, essentially flagging Twitch to pay attention to the suspicious activity.
Ultimately, it seems that many of the players involved in the ongoing situation entered into an agreement under false pretenses, or without getting an accurate picture of the plan before complying. Jake Lucky, noted leaker and esports reporter, commented that Riot Turkey cannot issue bans until Twitch discloses more information about the situation. That being said, it's expected to disperse bans when it can.