A Brazilian Valoran pro has been banned mid-tournament after a clip of him saying a racist term resurfaced online.
Alexandre ‘xand’ Zizi is a Brazilian Valorant pro and was previously a CS:GO player before jumping into Riot Games’ esport. The player has been on top Brazilian squads like FURIA Esports, Ninja in Pyjamas, and 00 Nation.
xand has also been linked to various Brazilian squads during the 2023-24 VCT off-season, with the most prominent squad being LOUD.
He has been keeping his skills sharp this off-season so far, participating in tournaments as well as tryouts. However at his most recent event, Multiplatform Esports Game 2023, xand was banned after playing two matches with The Union as a stand-in.
e esse aq bidao? pic.twitter.com/NOaN5Ux7OG
— ribeiro (@Ribeiropedr0) October 18, 2023
The ban came less than a day after a video resurfaced on social media of xand saying a racist term in an ESEA match in CS:GO. The tournament organizer banned xand from the tournament effective immediately, and all future editions of the event series as well.
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Valorant pro banned after seven-year-old clip resurfaces
The Brazilian pro took to social media to address the situation and also give an update on his current team status.
“Everyone saw that this never happened again, I’m not that person anymore and I’m going to prove it to you. I don’t know what my future will be, but I just want to apologize for hurting you. I understand that these are consequences of my actions and do not come close to what I did,” he said.
Não sei o que será do meu futuro mas só penso em pedir desculpas por ter machucado vocês.Entendo que isso são consequências das minhas atitudes e não chega perto do que fiz. Grato por ter mudado e ter saido de um ambiente podre no qual eu tb fazia parte 2/2
— xand (@xandfps) October 18, 2023
With the way the off-season is shaking out, xand might miss out on VCT Americas competition yet again. He started the 2023 season on KRÜ Esports before being benched and eventually moved to 00 Nation in the Brazilian Challengers League.
Most of the Brazilian and LATAM rosters in VCT Americas are set or being finalized and xand reportedly was not given an offer after a tryout with LOUD. Whether the resurfacing of this clip will impact his future team prospects is yet to be seen as the VCT off-season is still underway.