Just as things get dirty on the fields and courts of sports, cheating in Esports is not a new occurrence. In fact, they may just be far more controversial than any tiff at a football field. In this article, we’ll dive deep into some of the most shocking esports scandals ever known—from a secret word file for aimbots, to straight up stream sniping, here are the most viral controversies to ever happen in the esports scene.
5 Shocking Esports Scandals REVEALED!
1) Echo Fox Racism
Once a rising star in the esports galaxy, Echo Fox’s implosion was nothing short of a supernova. Founded by NBA legend Rick Fox, the organization rapidly expanded into multiple gaming arenas. But its meteoric ascent soon gave way to a catastrophic crash.
In 2019, one of the biggest esports scandals tore up the roots of Echo Fox. Due to a racist incident involving a shareholder, Rick Fox resigned. At the time, the shareholder had used racial slurs in an email, and the entire world reviled with anger and demanded he be removed from the company. We’ve seen racial issues in the realm of sports, and unfortunately, esports is no safer for it.
The scandal meant the end for Echo Fox. Its precious League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) spot was taken from it and, therefore, had to disband, leaving a scar on the esports landscape, likely to never heal completely.
2) Word.exe by Forsaken
Nikhil “Forsaken” Kumawat is one of the bright young faces in CS: GO out of India, who rose meteorically to the greatest heights before falling as shamefully as he could after one of the most shocking esports scandals that hit the scene.
In 2018, Forsaken was one of the key players for OpTic India, which dominated Indian CS, winning every tournament. But during the eXtremesland ZOWIE Asia tournament, an admin discovered an aimbot and wallhack cheat on his computer under the file “Word.exe”. This led to OpTic India’s disqualification, Forsaken’s five-year ban from Valve events, and the release of the entirety of the roster.
This is one of the biggest esports scandals to have gone viral, with footage showing Forsaken frantically trying to delete his cheat file! Watch it below:
3) KQLY VAC Ban
The CS:GO community is no stranger to esports scandals. Take the 2014 incident involving many of the world’s elite professional players, for example. Among those found happened to be using pirated versions of third-party software for unfair advantage – and this is coming from highly skilled players like Hovik “KQLY” Tovmassian.
KQLY’s ban by Valve’s Anti-Cheat system (VAC) just days before the DreamHack Winter tournament left his team, Titan, in disarray. This caused much shock within the CS:GO community since it unearthed that, indeed, such cheating did take place even at the competitive level of play.
While CS:GO has recovered since then, and Valve, in conjunction with ESEA (E-Sports Entertainment Association), has improved its anti-cheat software, the KQLY scandal remains one of the darkest moments in esports. The scandal remains a harsh reminder of good play and what happens if such antics are discovered.
4) StarCraft Match-Fixing Esports Scandals
In 2015, a huge match-fixing scandal occurred, involving three professional players of the Prime esports team: Yoda, BBoongBBoong, and Gerrard. The players were prosecuted and sentenced to lifetime ban by KeSPA, Korea e-Sports Association, for intentional match-throwing for money.
The scandal, which includes other high-profile tournaments like ProLeague and The Global StarCraft League, already reported that the players got pretty huge amounts of money for losing certain matches. The whole incident brought public discontent and led to the takedown of match-fixing in the community of StarCraft II.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg. In 2016, one of the most shocking esports scandals dug deeper with the arrest and later conviction of Life, one of the most celebrated StarCraft II players ever.
Life was found guilty of match-fixing during the 2015 KeSPA Cup and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. His conviction marked a turning point in the history of esports, demonstrating the serious consequences of cheating and the lengths to which some individuals will go for personal gain.
5) Stream Sniping at Worlds 2012!
In the 2012 League of Legends World Championships, the quarter-final match between TSM and Azubu Frost was marred by controversy. Azubu Frost emerged victorious with a “clean” 2-0 sweep, but TSM’s captain, Reginald, and some fans accused the Korean team of stream sniping.
Stream sniping involves players using information from a live stream to gain an unfair advantage. In this case, Azubu Frost’s players were allegedly using the large screen in the arena to see TSM’s movements and make informed decisions. The placement of the screen behind the players made it possible for them to peek and gather information, giving them a significant edge.
Riot Games investigated the allegations and found evidence to support TSM’s claims. Azubu Frost was fined $30,000 for their actions—making it one of the hottest esports scandals at the time. As a result of this incident, organizers of future esports events began to implement measures to prevent stream sniping, such as moving players away from the screens in LAN setups.
