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The LVP Rising Series qualifier saw some drama over the last 48 hours as Movistar Riders’ Valorant pro, Rui “rapaztriste” Fonseca, was caught cheating.
Cheating controversies in competitive esports titles is nothing new. But what’s shocking in Valorant’s case is that the game is still new. Even with all the good Vanguard has done to date, a pro still deems it necessary to blatantly cheat during an official game.
The Valorant esports scene is still trying to take off properly, and incidents like this harm the game's competitive integrity significantly.
And even if Movistar Riders is not exactly a big name, cheating is cheating in the eyes of the wider community, and it’s criminal in all stages of the competition.
Rapaztriste was using third-party resources not available in Valorant
In a statement released by Movistar Riders, the organization explained that after the qualifier game in the LVP Rising Series, several players in the squad informed their manager about suspicious behavior on the part of rapaztriste.
The statement said:
“As a response from the club, the player is no longer part of Movistar Riders. From here, we want to apologize to LVP and Riot for what happened and thank them for their speed and their availability to find a solution to the problem. Of course, we also want to extend our sincere apologies to all Valorant fans and tournament participants.”
Using third-party applications to get an unfair advantage is unacceptable in any level of competition, be it an official one or a private invitational.
Valorant fans were understandably enraged about how the whole issue unfolded, but the fact there was strict action taken against the accused is indeed a positive sign.
The Movistar Riders Valorant roster now consists of:
- Carlos “scarx” Sanchez
- Maks “kamyk” Rychlewski
- Mihály “Tishler” Kállai
- Michael “mikigoalie” Buzek
