Valorant professional player Abhay “Xhade” Urkude has confessed to cheating in ranked matches following a ban commissioned by Riot Games.
Indian Valorant team Paratroop’s Sentinel Xhade was disqualified from The Esports Club Invitational after receiving a an during the tournament. Initially, the player was adamant that he wasn’t complicit in any shady business. However, his teammates and a few Indian professional players pestered him to speak the truth.
In Paratroops’ key member Binks’ stream, Xhade confessed to cheating in ranked games. In his defense, the 19-year old said that he “only used wallhacks, not aim assist.” He also explained his reasoning for exploiting these hacks during competitive matches.
“I wanted to rank up, become Radiant, but hackers hindered my progress. I got triggered and used hacks to jump the ladder. I bought the hacks for one day, and used it in only three matches,” Xhade said.
Xhade’s disqualification had astounded his teammates, who continuously reached out to Riot Games to ascertain the cause behind the ban. The youngster later confirmed that he never hacked in the tournament and that the ban was solely due to him cheating in ranked games.
Xhade may have been banned from Valorant, but the repercussions of his actions were much severe. His ban comes at a sensitive time as Indian Valorant esports is still in its embryonic stages. On Binks’ stream, renowned Indian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professionals criticized the player for marring the local scene, years after the Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat controversy that destroyed Indian esports to a great extent. The players stressed that forsaken ruined their careers within one night, as low tier rosters started disrespecting Indian teams after his ban.
In 2018, OpTic India’s player forsaken was caught cheating on Extremesland finals’ live camera, resulting in his ban and team’s disbandment. Forsaken’s cheating left a lasting mark on Indian esport that fresh talent has been coping with. However, the recent interest of organizations like Vitality, Fnatic in Indian professional players has helped revive the scene.
Following the heavy backlash, Xhade has deleted his YouTube channel.
Soon after the live stream blowout, Binks69 confessed that he had earlier shared an account with someone else in ESPL Valorant PowerUp India Qualifier. The streamer-cum-pro said that he had played from a different ID, breaching a common rule in competitive tournaments.
His confession earned him a six-month ban from any ESPL tournament.
“Any dishonest and unsportsmanlike behavior that undermines the credibility of the ranking systems put in place will not be tolerated as they will only thwart the growth of the competitive ecosystem that ESPL hopes to build,” ESPL stated.
In light of Xhade’s confession, ESPL banned the entire team instead of holding their ban on Binks69. Team Mages will be playing in Paratroops slot in upcoming matches.
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