Ninja weighs in on XXiF cheating in Fortnite World Cup Qualifier

Olivia Richman Published 03/05/2019

The Fortnite World Cup’s immense prize pool has already caused a lot of competitors to give in to their greed.

Fortnite pro Damion “XXiF” Cook was recently accused of colluding with his friends during a World Cup open qualifer match. He took second place, earning $4,000 in prize money and, more importantly, a spot in the finals.

XXiF has denied any illegal activity, but it seems like the Fortnite community has already made up their minds based on video evidence. This included other pros who demanded Epic step in and rectify the situation.

They got their wish.

In the weekly competitive update, Epic stated that XXiF and “all players involved” will receive a 14-day competitive ban. They will be inelegible for any Week 3 prizes and will forfeit their Fortnite World Cup FInals qualification spot. This spot went to the next highest ranking player on the Week 3 FInals leadership for the NA East region.

While Epic has announced XXiF’s punishment – along with almost 700 others – people feel this isn’t severe enough. Many speculate that XXiF will just have the chance to cheat again in the coming weeks once his suspension is lifted.

Check out one disgruntled World Cup viewer’s video below:

In the April 29 match, XXiF drops into the same area as two other players, “Bad and Wuji” and “gestyy.” Viewers began to grow suspicious of the trio when Bad and Wuji began to pickaxe a chest despite the nearing XXiF after running right over a purple pump. XXiF then gets an easy kill.

Even more peculiar, gestyy decides to drop into the same area after seeing those two facing off 1v1. The competitor grabs a decidedly lesser weapon, seems to lose the ability to aim, and then is also eliminated by XXiF.

So, what’s going on?

XXiF was in contension at that point in the Week 3 qualifiers with 53 points. To viewers, it appeared that Bad and Wuji and gestyy had purposely thrown the match to allow XXiF to continue, since they didn’t have enough points themselves.

Even though the two competitors may not have been able to qualify, it wasn’t like they were complete bots. Bad and Wuji had 31 points at the time of the incident. To Fortnite fans, this meant he wasn’t a bad player. So what was with the terrible misplay on April 29?

After watching the clips himself, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins said on stream that XXiF, Bad and Wuji, and gestyy are all good friends. Here’s his reaction:

The revelation that all three of the competitors were friends made it even more evident to the Fortnite community that something fishy was going on. Pros continued to call on Epic to disqualify XXiF.

On April 30, XXiF took to Twitter to deny the charges. He also admitted to being friends with Bad and Wuji, along with many of the other competitors during the match. XXiF also told his accusors that gestyy was a “random fan.”

“I had no idea he was going to land there, and no control over where he chooses to land. But in 1 out of the 10 games I played, he chose to land in the same spot as me,” XXiF said about Bad and Wuji.

When it came to gestyy, XXiF continued, “I can’t speak for the second guy, as I would never land on two people fighting. It’s something I can’t comprehend or put reason to.”

XXiF concluded the Twitlong by declaring his innocence.

Fortnite community is not convinced

Bad and Wuji released a statement on Twitter shortly after XXiF. He begged Fortnite fans to stop “slandering” his name and threatening him. He called the drama “a waste of time.”

Fortnite pros and viewers were not convinced. In fact, the community continued to dig. In a Reddit post, one player uncovered XXiF playing a match while on a team with gestyy, the supposed “random fan” that XXiF dismissed in the qualifiers.

Epic announced that 1,163 cheaters were caught and disqualified during the World Cup’s first week of open qualifier matches. With 100 players competing each day throughout the 10 weeks of qualifiers, there’s a lot of opportunity for cheating and illegal activity.

The new competitive update included XXiF and about 700 others.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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