Esports Players’ League (ESPL) have decided to issue a six month ban to Paratroops and Mithul ‘Binks69’ Nayak after the latter confessed to having shared his account during the ESPL Valorant PowerUp India Qualifiers to have someone else impersonate him and compete on his behalf.
According to ESPL’s ruling, Paratroops have been banned from participating in any ESPL events for the next 6 months while also banning Binks69 for the same period. As far as Qualifier #3 is concerned, Paratroops have been disqualified and no longer hold a spot in the Main Event through the said Qualifier.
In their stead, Team MaGeS, Langde Ghode, Offbit Gaming and ZeroIQ, teams who were beaten by Paratroops en route to a top four place in Qualifier #3, will battle it out, with the winner becoming the designated replacement for Paratroops in the Main Event of ESPL Valorant PowerUp India.
ESPL also highlighted their reasoning behind the bans issued and the zero tolerance approach they want to adopt in terms of unethical practices in their events.
“Esports Players League (ESPL)’s mission is to build a sustainable global network and foundation for growing esports talents around the world. Any dishonest and unsportsmanlike behaviour that undermines the credibility of the ranking systems put in place will not be tolerated as they will only thwart the growth of the competitive ecosystem that ESPL hopes to build. ESPL’s responsibility encompasses both the growth and protection of the competitive esports scene.”
This is the second jolt to Paratroops, who recently had their Sentinel Abhay ‘Xhade’ Urkude banned in-game before the youngster himself confessed to having used cheats on his ID. As far as ESPL Valorant PowerUp India is concerned, it remains to be seen which team takes up the slot left vacant after the Paratroops disqualification.
Xhade Valorant Ban
Xhade has himself come out and admitted to using cheats during a live stream on Mithul ‘Binks69’ Nayak’s channel, who is an integral part of Paratroops’ roster along with being a content creator for 8bit. The Paratroops Sentinel admitted that he used cheats in Valorant but only for three games as he ‘wanted to reach Radiant’.
His responses in the Discord Voice Chat to questions posed to him by prominent professionals in the Indian Valorant scene and his demeanor, in general, did not seem too apologetic as he added that he did not use ‘aim assist, only wall hacks’.