Riot Games delay Valorant Ignition Series event amid cheating suspicions

Riot Games have postponed the WePlay! Esports Valorant Ignition Series tournament amid cheating suspicions among the players participating.

Update on July 15 at 3:15 PM (PT) / 6:15 PM (ET) / 11:15 PM (BST)

A Riot Games representative exclusively provided Dexerto with the following statement, after the events which unfolded surrounding the cheating suspicions during the WePlay! Invitational.

“During the WePlay! Invitational, we received credible allegations of a team cheating and escalated the issue to our anti-cheat team who is currently reviewing the pertinent matches. We asked the organizer to temporarily pause the tournament and hold the results while we evaluated the possibility of replaying portions of the bracket.

“At no point was the team Nolpenki under suspicion and, as such, their results will stand.”

Update on July 15 at 11:28 AM (PT) / 2:28 PM (ET) / 7:28 (BST)

The devs concluded their investigation into the situation of a possible cheater among the tournament. Host James Banks said that there wasn’t any foul play that affected the Grand Finals nor the qualifiers.

The two hosts went on to clear Nolpenki’s name as speculation arose after they were omitted from WePlay’s list of participants.

The original story is below.

During the WePlay! Esports Ignition Series event, the developers paused the event following reports of a potential cheat being used.

With Riot hot on the heels of players trying to get an unfair advantage, the Vanguard team placed the European event on hold, according to VALORANDOde Team Manager, Leon ‘Aricune’ Neziri.

“Riot Games delayed games of the WePlay! Esports Ignition Series Tournament of some teams by a couple of hours, to clarify the situation and double-check everything with Vanguard and it’s suspicions!”

This was later confirmed by the Liquipedia Valorant account, which also stated that “WePlay have removed Nolpenki from their participant list on their website.”

Nolpenki are a Lithuanian who placed first in their WePlay! Esports Qualifier, where they only dropped two maps throughout the entire tournament.

It is important to note that this is by no means confirming that Nolpenki has cheated, but should the squad be caught red-handed, it will likely result in a permanent ban from both future tournaments and the game.

Riot have vowed to put competitive integrity at the forefront of their intentions with Valorant. While cheaters are almost an inevitable part of any high-stakes esport, it appears that Riot are doing everything in their power to clamp down on them.

• Read more: Ex-Overwatch pro Sinatraa explains how Valorant is more lucrative

Vanguard has been implemented to help in the fight the ongoing battle against cheaters. While it has received backlash for its intrusive nature, it appears that it is most certainly doing the job, as Riot continues to ban players that have compromised their competitive integrity.

And this extends beyond the game and into Valorant’s esport scene, as Riot have also been actively monitoring their Ignition Series events to ensure that everyone is playing on a level playing field.