Here’s why Riot Games banned canezerra for 12 months

Khizar Mundia Published 17/04/2026

Riot Games is known to punish players when they violate the terms of service or cheat, and Alex “canezerra” Banyasz is the latest to fall foul of the rules — he has been banned for one year.

canezerra rose through the ranks in the Tier 2 Valorant circuit and gained fame in the Challengers circuit while playing for Envy, qualifying for the VCT Americas after winning Ascension in 2025. canezerra has had a promising pro Valorant career to date, with many analysts speculating that he would achieve even more accolades, but that has now seemingly on hold given that Riot has banned the player.

canezerra faces a 12-month hardware ban

Riot Games banned canzerra for 12 months, and he is barred from playing any Riot title for the duration of the suspension. This means he can’t compete, stream, promote, or otherwise play any Riot game. This effectively freezes the player’s professional Valorant career and progress for one whole year and it will be a while before he is seen again.

Image credit: Envy

Following this, Envy released a statement that the team and player had decided to mutually part ways due to the circumstances. This is logical, as canezerra can’t represent the organization in any capacity. So, keeping the player on the roster or signed makes no sense, but canezerra’s departure will still clearly affect his career. A year-long leave of absence can be a huge deal, and there is no guarantee whether Envy will keep a spot for canezerra when his ban lifts.

This puts canezerra’s career in doubt until he returns from his suspension. The American released a statement apologizing for his actions, expressing deep regret. The player stated that he was immature, and that his behavior wasn’t acceptable; he also accepted that he made a serious mistake in ranked games, though promised to take the time to change and return better.

Why was canezerra banned?

Riot Games has not specified why they banned canezerra, but Envy’s statement acknowledged that it was due to “ multiple violations of terms of service”. Fans have speculated that it may be linked to his alleged toxic behavior. Viewers have given their input on the potential reasons, with some claiming that the streamer apparently used slurs. While this is unverified, a repeated pattern of such words can be the reason if true, with multiple other streamers suffering the same fate.

Riot typically takes severe action against players for harassment or verbal abuse. While they have not commented on the specifics of this case, they have stated that canezerra’s ban isn’t due to cheating. With canezerra out of action for 12 months, it remains to be seen how and when he will return to competitive Valorant action.

Feature image credit: canezerra

Khizar Mundia

About Khizar Mundia

Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.

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