Underground scheme allegedly offers $50 per game to stream snipe
A troubling revelation has sent ripples through the VALORANT community as streamer Connor "PROD" Moran posted an image on Twitter that seems to reveal a Discord bounty board, inciting significant concern.
This board allegedly calls for the disruption of online matches against 13 prominent VALORANT streamers, including Moran himself, ShahZam, Kyedae, Dasnerth, and others.
According to the screenshot, players matched against these content creators are monetarily incentivised to throw or stream snipe matches.
The VALORANT community has started speculating about the reasons for the scheme while those affected shared their concerns on socials.
The Discord bounty board
According to the screenshot, individuals successfully throwing games or stream sniping these streamers could earn between $20 and $50 per game. These supposed bounties are to be paid in various cryptocurrencies with some of them also offering PayPal payments.
The screenshot further outlines that the bounty list is demand-driven, with the list updating weekly. Only games which are either successfully thrown to the point that the streamer loses, or sufficiently carried in the opposing team of the streamer as to be won, are outlined to be rewarded.
While the exact motive behind this alleged scheme remains unverified, speculation among fans is rife. The most common theory suggests the existence of a betting scheme, in which bettors could exert influence over the outcomes of the streamers' matches.
One Reddit user explains his theory as such: “People can bet on the games and make money, so you can pay someone a bounty and then bet like 10x that the streamer will win/lose based on whatever team the thrower is on.”
Streamers React to the Claims
The streamers implicated in the alleged bounty scheme have shown their disappointment about the alleged scheme.
Kyedae voiced her distress on Twitter, tweeting, "This just makes me so sad. I don’t even know what to say."
Dasnerth, meanwhile, responded with disbelief. "They got every single payment method possible to streamsnipe me. WTF? no wonder i always win off stream," the streamer tweeted in reaction to the screenshot.
ShahZam, another esteemed name on the list, appeared to find validation in the allegations, tweeting about the pushback he had received for having talked about fishy behaviour in his ranked games, tweeting "Shahz always cries about stream snipers".
