CSGO pro wrongfully banned from Valorant after plugging phone into PC

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Oscar “Mixwell” Cañellas was wrongfully kicked out of Valorant for plugging his phone into his PC. 

That seemingly innocent action got Mixwell immediately blocked from Riot’s new FPS title. Mixwell had just won a round when he went to charge his phone by connecting it to his phone. Apparently, the game’s anti-cheat system interpreted the new device as Mixwell attempting to do something sneaky and banned him automatically. 

“I connected my USB charger to my phone and I got disconnected by the anti-cheat,” Mixwell tweeted, tagging Valorant and Riot for help. 

“Apparently something similar happened to [G2 streamer] Lothar and more people. I will have to wait and I wanted to play so bad,” Mixwell said. 

Valorant taking anti-cheat very seriously

Riot has taken a very serious stance against cheaters in their new game. But maybe their anti-cheat engine, Vanguard, is a little too sensitive. 

The built-in mechanisms have made a lot of common FPS hacks impossible. Classic speed hacks, which allow players to move faster than normal, are being hyper-focused by Riot. Their server authority will effectively prevent players from influencing their location during the game, also preventing teleportation hacks. 

Wallhacks are another common hack in games like CSGO. Valorant will have an in-engine fog of war system that will functionally remove opponents from existence until right before contact. 

But that’s not all. 

Any computer caught using these hacks will be banned. This means that players can’t create a new account to get around a ban. This is considered quite a strict anti-cheat measure in the gaming world, and players from various countries are concerned this could affect how they play the game at internet cafes.

While anti-cheat engines are overall welcome, it seems that there’s still some tweaking to do. Mixwell appealed to Riot Support, begging to have his account unlocked. While awaiting an answer, Mixwell has decided to try playing League of Legends.