One of the most prestigious Valorant tournaments in Pakistan Red Bull Campus Clutch has been marred by cheating allegations and complaints of mismanagement.
Redbull’s global Valorant university tournament is under fire from one of the teams participating in Pakistan. Red Monks’ Hashir “Captain Hook” Khan took to Facebook and alleged that the tournament management allowed Salt Esports’ hardware banned player Shehryar “Solangi” Solangi to compete in the qualifiers. The player expressed general indifference on the issue from tournament organizers and accused them of unfairly disqualifying the Red Monks.
“I confirmed with salt’s captain, and he agreed that (Solangi) got a ban and that he is not hacking and all, but I reported this to admin that they are playing with a hacker, admin decided to give us a win. After few hours, I get to know that the decision was reversed and instead, we got a loss because we failed to show up,” Said Captain Hook.
Captain Hook backed his claims with in-game screenshots where skipper Beast avowed Solangi’s account had been banned before. According to Solangi’s teammate Beast, the player was banned for smurfing instead of hacking in-game. To dodge the ban for the Red Bull event, Solangi had replaced his hardware banned PC. Not taking explanations into account, Red Monks pressed the issue and presented screenshots of Solangi’s Faceit ban.
These accusations coupled with the fact that Salt Esports would keep its slot in the qualifier have marred the event to a massive extent. While the alleged evidence was mere screenshots and chat images, a default win for Salt Esports without prior investigations has ruffled many feathers in the Valorant community.
Red Monks out of Red Bull Campus Clutch
The decision to kick Red Monks out of tournaments comes as a result of new development, which revealed that Captain Hook was part of the observing team despite playing in the event. The news led the admins to disqualify the team and decide in Salt Esports’ favour. The reports and Captain Hook himself confirmed that admins were well aware of his team participating in the event before bestowing observer responsibilities on him.
The event admins are still quiet on the matter, and Salt Esports’ has also eluded the conversation.
Update: Solangi has turned down the post accusing him of hacking as “hearsay.” The player has asked for substantial evidence instead of screenshots and chats. Both the parties now await Riot and Redbull’s official verdict.
It remains to be seen how the admins tackle the situation that has snowballed into a full-blown controversy as more players come forward with similar instances in prior events in Pakistan.
While Red Monks being kicked out after an alleged default win certainly looks suspicious, the matter should be taken with a pinch of salt until an official statement has been released.
Followers and fans should expect an official comment before the Semi-Finals set to kick off on 3 April.
