Disgraced hacker denied another chance in Call of Duty esports by Activision
Contrary to popular belief, the Call of Duty professionals don't cheat, and when LAN time comes around, those second-rate players who have been grinding through the seedy underbelly of the Challengers pits are really put to the test.
Yet thanks to the online era of esports, post-pandemic, there are a few newer talents who bend the rules. One player, in particular, dropped a middle finger to the rulebook and deployed full-blown cheats to get themselves a shot at the CDL.
Now, this disgraced ex-pro has attempted to pull the wool over the eyes of the community and developers by signing up for a recent event with a new team.
Call of Duty hacker tries to revive professional career
Bryan "Jimbo" Sabman, formally of Paris Legion in 2022 (Vanguard season) was outed as a hacker during a Modern Warfare 2 LAN event, when Activision issued a ban wave to accounts and his account was wiped out mid-event.
Jimbo professed innocence in a deleted tween and has since refused to comment on the situation. However, the 23-year-old Canadian has attempted to reignite his career on a fresh (and reportedly clean) account, and signed up to a 2024 Challengers event with new teammates.
As pointed out by The Rotation, Jimbo signed up for the most recent Challengers Cup alongside a new squad named "Team Exiled", having been granted access by FaceIt. But his return was short-lived.
Jimbo exiled from Call of Duty esports again
Shortly after the news that Jimbo's return was imminent, CDL officials and FaceIt both reiterated that the ex-pro is banned from all official events.
Spencer Peterson of the CDL confirmed that "he's not eligible to participate", which was echoed by FaceIt admins who added, "Jimbo is not an eligible player and cannot participate in the tournament."
It looks like Jimbo won't be returning to competitive CoD indefinitely, and the League's zero-tolerance attitude against hackers has been reinforced.
