Valorant Radiant player banned for cheating in the middle of a scrim

Lauren Bergin
Valorant Vanguard Hacker Screen Cypher

A high-ranking Valorant player was banned for cheating, right in the middle of a scrim against professional players.

On January 27, Anthony ‘antmanosca’ Manosca, a pro Valorant coach, was caught off guard as the in-game anti-cheat detected a pretty awkward situation, mid-scrim.

The game stopped suddenly, as players were alerted to the cheating player – who had somehow reached the highest rank in the game.

There are some things you never want to see, and this red screen is one of them.

Radiant player banned mid-scrim

Midway through scrims with Dignitas Female, there’s a wave of shock as the game appears to crash before the screen is dominated by the infamous red ‘Hacker Detected’ screen.

A quote tweet from Amanda ‘Rain’ Smith, one of female-fronted lineup’s main stars, reads “IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SCRIM”. The original tweet quoted was from fellow squad member Juliana ‘Showliana’ Maransaldi.

It’s antmanosca’s tweet is the true shocker though, as it includes a link to the original clip from the game. The random ban is met with complete confusion by Dig Female, as well as the coach himself.

Who was the hacker?

It turns out that, according to user @AntiCheatPD, the alleged cheater was player ReFleckFPS, who has subsequently received a ban in response to the incident.

What’s important to note here is that a player managed to climb high enough using hacks to end up in a top 10 Radiant scrim, the highest level of the game. Although Vanguard eventually did its job, it was perhaps a touch late.

Hackers and cheats, despite the developer’s best efforts, is still an issue rife in Valorant, with players calling on Riot to take more action, and more efficiently.

Promises have been made that the toxicity that is often associated with banned players is being addressed, but the problem of hacking and cheating also remains a target for the developers.

About The Author

Lauren was formerly Dexerto's Features Editor and resident Diablo Sorceress. With two Master's degrees under her belt and a lot more Steam achievements, she specializes in all things Blizzard and Riot Games, with some Lost Ark and FFXIV on the side.