Overwatch pro Aspire banned amid grooming allegations

Overwatch pro player Luka “Aspire” Rolovic has been banned from playing in the Overwatch World Cup after grooming allegations. 

Vancouver Titans’ starting DPS player Luka has found himself in the hot waters ahead of the World Cup. The grooming allegations levied against him, which include several screenshots, have led him to be removed from Team USA’s 2023 starting roster. This means he can no longer compete in the Overwatch World Cup or in the rest of the 2023 OWL season. 

On June 27, an account dubbed “Exposing Aspire” appeared on Twitter, which seems to be a burner account for a girl who claims she was groomed by Aspire when she was 16. 

Why was Aspire banned? 

Aspire has been banned from Vancouver Titans and Team USA after accusations of grooming a minor appeared online. The alleged victim shared a 700-word-long document, which included Discord screenshots and real-life pictures of the two, attesting to the alleged relationship. 

According to the now 18-year-old girl, Aspire got into a relationship with her when she was 16, which eventually turned sexual in nature. She claimed their relationship began in 2022 and became more inappropriate as months passed, considering her age. The document further alleged that the pro player eventually became controlling and toxic, trying to cut her off from friends and school. 

According to the alleged victim, Aspire had also flown out to Spain to see her. She claimed that Aspire had gotten intimate with her on one of their meetups, only to break up right after rumors of their inappropriate relationship started spreading in the OW whisper network. If the document is to be believed, their relationship lasted for 11 months and ended before the girl turned 18. However, according to the alleged victim, Aspire would keep DMing her after the breakup as well. 

“In March 2023, a month before my 18th birthday, we had broken up for good. we would contact each other occasionally, him telling me he can ‘tell I’ve moved on’ while also telling me it’s hard for him to do so. Our last interaction was a week after he told me he still loved me,” she claimed.

According to Overwatch streamer Aspen, the Titan management knew about this for six months and did nothing. The alleged victim also claimed that Titan’s player-manager “chibi” was in the loop, and instead of helping her, she passed all the information to Aspire, who then started removing proofs from chat. 

Aspire hasn’t yet directly responded to the allegations, and the claims against the Overwatch pro are yet to be proven in a court of law. On the other hand, Vancouver Titans are yet to announce the replacement for the OWL season, which starts on July 13.