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Unfortunately, trash-talking and bullying opponents have become common in big competitive tournaments. However, one League of Legends streamer may have crossed the line.
During the recent Twitch Rivals event, popular LoL professional and Twitch streamer Walid "Cipher" came under hot water for s**ually harassing Victoria "Vicksy."
The latter called out Cipher for making inappropriate s*xual remarks, rudely calling her "ugly" and objectifying her body. The allegations took the community by storm as several fans and streamers chimed in to provide their take on the matter.
In response, Walid issued a public apology.
League of Legends player Cipher lambasted for harassing female player during Twitch Rivals
The latest Twitch Rivals event in Europe attracted massive viewership for the platform but came under fire after one streamer made inappropriate remarks toward another.
While going head-to-head against League of Legends player Vicksy during the event, Cipher threw out some highly suggestive comments targeting the female midlaner. As per the player herself, the Twitch streamer broadly commented on her breasts the entire stream "and typed in all chat to me the entire game calling me 'my love.'"
Despite getting called out, Cipher continued to make remarks and objectify her body, saying:
"Sorry, sorry. Charm me, my heart. She has a good package, very good."
However, things soon got ugly when his livestream chat viewers also started harassing Vicksy, calling her ugly repeatedly. The unfortunate chain continued the entire stream, with the professional gamer himself actively joining in, going so far as calling her a "b**ch."
Vicksy then presented the entire incident to her viewers via her official Twitter handle. While sharing it publicly via a thread, she also pointed out the poor state of women in the esports landscape due to harassment.
The League of Legends player noted:
"I wonder why girls are mostly absent in esports [and] competitive settings?"
As the incident came into the limelight, Cipher immediately issued a public apology saying:
"I said something during Twitch Rivals that I regret. This is not who I am, and it was inappropriate. I meant no harm and was only joking, which I shouldn't have. Things like this should not define our scene, and I truly apologize to Vicksy. I can't take back what I said; I should be better and do better for our communities. I am sorry again and am willing to accept the consequences, learn and move forward."
Despite going through a terrifying episode, Vicksy managed to dominate the League of Legends match and secured an easy win against Cipher.
Social media reacts to the entire incident
As expected, the Twitter thread gained much traction within a few hours of going public. Judging by the comments, most viewers seemed highly concerned with how this negatively impacted the role of female players and creators in esports.
The latest harassment incident on such a big platform is hugely saddening and concerning. Many female players and even streamers face similar situations when competing in big tournaments, events, or just while playing online video games.
Twitch hasn't issued any official comment on the situation at the time of writing.
