In Fortnite: Battle Royale two players have qualified for the World Championships, who were banned at the beginning of the qualifying rounds for cheating. This has the rest of the community up in arms.
Who are they? The two Fortnite players Damion “XXiF” Cook and Ronald “Ronaldo” Mach qualified in week 8 of the qualifying rounds for the Fortnite World Championship. In addition to a decent prize pool, they are guaranteed to participate in the World Championship finals in New York in July.
Participation in the World Championship is extremely prestigious and the dream of every Fortnite player. The competition is brutal and even pros like Ninja or Tfue are struggling.
Cheaters in the Final? Fans are outraged
This is why the participation of the two is problematic: However, XXiF and Ronaldo’s situation is different. The two players were banned in week 3 of the solo qualifying rounds because they clearly cheated.
They had conspired with other participants of the qualifying round. The other players then complied and let themselves be eliminated. In return, the two cheaters received kills as well as valuable weapons, ammunition, and materials for the current match.
However, the collusion was noticed and as punishment, the two cheaters had to forfeit their former qualification and endure a 14-day ban from all Fortnite tournaments. That punishment period is now over and the two can participate again and legally qualify once more.
This is how other players are reacting: That two former cheaters are now participating in the biggest Fortnite tournament of all time with a prize pool of 30 million US dollars, and might win, doesn’t sit well with many players.
Also, the fact that they have served their punishment and are thus legitimate competitors again does not resonate well with large parts of the community.
For many players on Reddit, it’s a big scandal that the two former cheaters are still participating, and a poor reflection on the organizers Epic:
- “Why the hell are they even allowed to play? That makes no sense! Epic has no idea about a competitive game!”
- “It’s unacceptable that a duo banned for cheating can qualify again!”
- “This is a joke! No wonder the competitive scene doesn’t take Fortnite seriously!”
- “They probably cheated again!”
Also via Twitter, some notable pro players expressed their outrage over the two ex-cheaters:
- “You let cheaters into the biggest tournament. Can’t wait to see how you explain the story to young audiences. This should be REALLY INTERESTING” (Vivid on Twitter)
- “Remember, kids, if you break the law or cheat, you just wait 2 weeks and then get 50,000 dollars!” (Nate Hill via Twitter)
- “A cheater qualifying for a 30-million-dollar tournament is a kick in the nuts for the integrity of the Fortnite competitive community. […] I feel sorry for everyone who worked hard and is now not qualified because of these two.” (DrLupo via Twitter)
It’s unlikely that Epic will remove the two cheaters from the list, but the comeback of the two former cheaters certainly casts a shadow over the organization of the tournament.
What is your opinion on this? Should exposed cheaters be completely banned from a tournament or is it only fair that the two can participate again?
