Two VALORANT Players Banned For Match Fixing
Two competitive VALORANT players have been on the receiving end of lengthy bans after Riot Games concluded their investigations into alleged match-fixing.
Former members of Singaporean VALORANT side Resurgence were under scrutiny from Riot, as it now appears that they intentionally threw a game whilst betting against themselves. Subsequently, two players have been handed 36-month bans from competitive VALORANT, including, but not limited to, the VALORANT Champions Tour.
Malcolm "Germsg" Chung and Ryan "Dreamycsgo" Tan were found to have bet against their own team whilst playing against BlackBird Ignis in an Ignition Series match, dating back to September 2020.
Two VALORANT Players Found Guilty Of Match-Fixing
The Riot investigation concluded that the two main culprits "coordinated to bet against their own team, Resurgence. Germsg initiated the scheme and Dreamycsgo provided the capital."
Riot continued to state that the two players "have violated Rule 7.2.1 and 7.2.4 of the VALORANT Global Competition Policy and will be banned from VCT for 36 months. The ban is considered to have begun with the original suspension date on 22 April 2021. They will be eligible to return to VALORANT in April 2024."
Resurgent's whole roster has been dealt with bans, although the remaining four members have been slapped with less severe suspensions.
Justin “Boplek” Wong Chong Cheng and Sengdala “Jabtheboy” Jamnalong have been dealt a 1-year ban exclusive to the VCT, whilst Du Min “Mortdecai” Yeo and Benedict “Benaf” Tan will be out of action for just six months.
Competitive Rulings From Riot Games Surrounding Match-Fixing
Despite not fully participating in the match-fixing scandal, that was driven by Germsg and Dreamycsgo, their four teammates have been found to have been aware of the plot and failed to report them to Riot Games in fear that they'd face punishments.
Their reduced sentences come in “based on their level of culpability and their level of their cooperation with the investigation.”
Riot detailed that "Germsg informed the rest of the Resurgence roster about his bet," before adding that "the rest of Resurgence’s roster did not want to throw the match, but purposefully concealed the issue from their management and VALORANT Esports officials."
The Resurgence roster disbanded just a month after the bet was placed.