Steven R. June 29, 2020
MIBR fans are most displeased about the team’s early ejection from cs_summit 6, but they aren’t directing their frustration at the team that wiped out in eighth place.
No, some fans are directing their wrath at Chaos Esports Club’s Nathan "leaf" Orf. The 16-year-old became an overnight sensation in the worst possible way when a number of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans, and even a few pro players, aired suspicions that he was cheating during the match.
This led to swift backlash, which got severe enough to result in death threats for the young player.
Much of this was driven on social media, with personalities covering the game lashing out over MIBR’s disappointing performance. It wasn’t just random Gold Novas and no-name streamers that were driving the bile in leaf’s direction, though.
“Not going to lie, the aimlock clips look sketch to me. I ain't saying nothing, though. I never understood how that kind of stuff happens so regularly for some people,” said Evil Geniuses’ Tarik "tarik" Celik in a now-deleted tweet.
Fresh off the loss, MIBR’s Fernando "fer" Alvarenga added onto tarik’s sentiments and questioned the legitimacy of Chaos’ victory.
Did leaf cheat in Chaos' cs_summit 6 win over MIBR?
CSGO is one of the few esports which has seen numerous instances of cheating in live events. That’s enough to raise suspicion on its own, but with the current CSGO competitive landscape taking place entirely in an online setting, it makes play even more susceptible to cheating. That said, leaf’s case looks to be more social media hysteria and fer being a sore loser than anything else.
CSGO fans have long been willing to indulge suspicions of pro players hacking, with one of the most infamous examples being three-time major winner and long-time veteran Robin "flusha" Rönnquist.
Any time a bullet lands through smoke or an auto-sniper shot catches people between the mid doors in Dust 2, calls of “VAC” flood Twitch chat.
leaf’s clips can be chalked up as either a coincidence or a proper read. On the off chance that he found cheats that can avoid both VAC and any other extra anti-cheats being run, fans will have to hope that it can be proven through a thorough investigation of his replays.
What's been lost in this uproar is that MIBR has continued its rapid descent, one that has its fans targeting opposing players and teams more often than MIBR's own struggling players.