The VALORANT esports scene was recently struck a serious blow (but perhaps a much-needed one) when Sean Gares, a hugely recognisable industry face, called out everything wrong with the Tier 2 ecosystem. His allegations pushed home the point that match-fixing and corruption are widespread across the scene, and it’s far from being a new claim.
Gares’ six-minute video uploaded on social media was a damning thing, and Riot Games has rushed to investigate his allegations.
Inherent Problem
Match fixing in the esports industry isn’t a new thing – it has been an issue in some games for several years at least. Over the last decade or so, the concept of match fixing, cheating, illegal gambling, and general corruption has all contributed to the rise of regulatory and governing bodies to attempt to wrangle the industry into shape.
Sean Gares, one of the biggest creators in the esports space, took to social media to upload a six-minute exposé of the Tier 2 VALORANT esports ecosystem. He stressed how he has been supportive of NA Challengers ‘since the jump’, but things are getting desperate and he can’t stay silent anymore.
Here we are today, and what we are discussing today is the state of Tier 2 North American VALORANT.
Yeah. It is infected. Match fixing, cheating, underground gambling rings, people making hundreds of thousands of dollars on these games that are rigged.
He revealed that when he was a competitor for Complexity, a match was ‘thrown’ for just $700 of Counter-Strike skins, and that was back in 2014. That gives a solid indication of how long these issues have been prevalent.
It’s not just the cheating, Gares explained. It’s the end-to-end critical state of the landscape that has seen countless organisations drop from the ecosystem in the last couple of years. It’s nothing short of fragile right now.
Here we are, all these Tier 1 orgs have left, and these players are desperate. They’re getting bribed for tens of thousands of dollars in one instance to throw a game. It could even be to fix a ranked game.
Whatever you do, they’ve got you by the balls, because you know why? They don’t go away, and they can blackmail you for eternity. That’s how this game works.
Riot Games responded to a request for comment from Sports Illustrated, explaining that it is hosting a super-sized investigation of its own:
The recent allegations about North America Challengers have been under active investigation since they were raised to us last week. Let us be clear: we take accusations like these extremely seriously and our Competitive Operations, Anti-Cheat, and Esports Rules & Compliance teams have been thoroughly examining the matter.
We appreciate everyone who has raised concerns and provided information. Suggestions that a Riot employee deliberately undermined competitive integrity, however, represent an incredibly serious accusation that can unfairly impact individuals personally and professionally.
The claims raised to our anti-cheat team are part of this broader investigation, and we have seen nothing so far that indicates complicity or wrongdoing by any member of our anti-cheat team.
Investigations require time and coordination as we conduct interviews and gather evidence. We will follow established procedures thoroughly and carefully, without being influenced or pressured by external voices.
Cheating has been a problem in multiplayer-based gaming since day dot, and it’s not getting any better. With the rise of concepts like esports gambling, it’s becoming too easy and lucrative for players to bet against themselves, throw games, or collude with third parties, as Sean Gares warns.
Do you think there’s a deep-rooted issue in the VALORANT space? Let me know on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that a future REPO update will give you a tank cannon
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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