Former OpTic India player Forsaken explains why he cheated

Former OpTic India Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Nikhil ‘forsaken’ Kumawat has spoken publicly for the first time on the cheating scandal that rocked the Asian CS:GO community, stating that he now wishes that he had never played the game.

OpTic India were disqualified from the eXTREMESLAND 2018 CS:GO tournament after Kumawat was caught cheating. After being sacked by OpTic, Kumawat deleted his social media accounts and initially refused to speak to anyone about the incident.

However, forsaken has finally ended his silence, speaking about the scandal in public for the first time in an interview with AFK Gaming. He also released a statement.

When asked by AFK Gaming about what he would have done differently, Kumawat responded: “If I could go back, I would probably delete the day I first played Counter-Strike – nothing good has happened to me since the day I first played that game.

“I am extremely sorry to my teammates, OpTic management and the people who always put their trust in me. I feel guilty of stealing away the opportunities from my teammates. Each one was extremely talented and I have jeopardized their chances of being where they deserve.”

• Read More: OpTic India’s forsaken also cheated at the ESL Premiership LAN finals [Confirmed]

Kumawat also clarified that he did not attempt to resist the admin’s decision to inspect his PC, but did close the window that had the cheat in it when the referee found it.

Forsaken said that “there was no pressure” from outside forces to cheat, rather that he did it due to a lack of confidence in his aim.

The cheat which the Indian player used was designed to give him a slight assist with his aiming, and forsaken has admitted that he used it throughout OpTic India’s pre-tournament bootcamp without anyone knowing.

Forsaken hopes to move forward into a new career through which he can help his family, although he is currently unsure as to what that new path will be.

You can read Kumawat’s full statement below.

“I want to start this by apologizing to my teammates, OpTic management and the people who put their trust in me. I feel extremely guilty for stealing away the opportunities from my teammates, each one was extremely talented and I have jeapordized their chances of being where they deserve.

I did not have any financial pressure, any family pressure or anything as a reason to cheat, it was all me. It was all me who wanted to win every game, wanted to be perfect in every aspect of the game. I was confident in my decision making, I was confident in understanding of the game etc, but was never confident in my aim so to compensate that lack of confidence in aim I had to choose the wrong path.

None of my teammates had any idea of me using any external programme including my coach and manager. They simply trusted in me and I am sorry to say I failed them. The hack was not too blatant (even though people think it might be), no-one in my team or people standing behind us (coach or manager etc) had any idea I was using anything. It gave me a slight advantage over my natural aiming so it was almost negligible to be observed by people around me. I was also very careful to only use it occasionally and in hiding it after games.

I did use hacks inside the bootcamp but it was impossible for them to know. As I already said it only gave me a slight advantage in terms of accuracy, precision and better registry of bullets so it was not visible to people observing me outside the game. There were also no instances to doubt me but whenever clips were online I was quick to come up with an excuse and took advantage of their trust in me.

If I could go back I would probably delete the day when I first played counterstrike. Nothing good has happened to me since the day i started playing the game. I thought this game was for me but since last almost one year i have not been loyal to it. I worked hard but i wasn’t loyal. I gave everything away for the game, I always put this game above everything else and today I realize what I have lost. One thing I always put everything above on and I cheated it. I lost everything when putting CS above everything and today I lost CS too. The only thing I never lost is my family and my girlfriend and I hope to never cheat on them.

I am broken inside but I am paying for what I did. I have committed a far greater mistake for the community and I must pay not only for my mistake but also for the people who trusted in me.I know my career in CS is over. All I can do is to try something in life so that I can be able to help my family. I have never think of doing anything other than CS. I will try to improve for my mistake and be a better person.

i never ever cheated in the tryouts because it was one of my first lans and i wanted to give my best there and i tried convincing myself to leave it and do it by my own and I didn’t had the courage to that also but when I came to bootcamp I was not been able to adjust on pc and by looking towards my teammates the urge to good at every aspect lead me to this again, so I could use it in bootcamp without anyone knowing about it, it gave me the courage to use it in further lans I have betrayed the trust of people who believed in me. I have dragged the name of the country in the dirt and I know it’s unforgivable. There is no one else to blame but me.  No one else should have to take the hate and blame for this but me. I saw the holes in the system and I took advantage of it for my own blind, selfish reasons. And I have nothing but regret.Even after I had served the ESIC ban, I could have started over, but in my stupidity and selfishness I continued to cheat. So many people have fought for me and stood up for me, and I realize now, how many people I have betrayed and how they are facing the punishment which is meant for me.

– Nikhil ‘forsaken’ Kumawat