Valorant player Slaze hits back at Riot over ban for playing with cheaters

Valorant player Sophia ‘Slaze’ Ramirez has disputed Riot Games’ claim that she queued with cheaters after the game developer slapped her with a ban from all competitions.

Competitive Valorant player Sophia ‘Slaze’ Ramirez was banned on 30 September for allegedly queuing with cheaters.

Now unable to participate in any tournaments until December 20, 2021 – three months from the last breach of the rules –, the player has disputed on Twitter any involvement with cheaters.

Initially, she claimed that Riot’s suspension was in response to supposed boosting, which explains why she was confused when the competitive ruling referenced cheating.

Riot Games ban Slaze for cheating

According to the official statement, Slaze “was found to have repeatedly queued together into Competitive with cheaters.”

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“In multiple instances, the cheater would be banned mid-game, log into a new account, and proceed to requeue with Slaze, even after she had received a notification of cheater detection,” the game developer added.

They go on to claim that “77% of the Competitive MMR gained on Slaze’s accounts came from games played while duo-queued with an actively cheating player” and that “60% of Slaze’s Competitive matches were played while duo-queued with an actively cheating player.”

This is a breach of Riot’s terms of service, as Section 7 specifies that playing with cheaters to improve your rank warrants disciplinary action. The penalty is a 90-day ban as laid out in Riot’s 27 January Winter Anti-Cheat update.

Slaze hits back at ban

When the ban was announced via the official Valorant Esports North America Twitter, Slaze was quick to respond.

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“I’ve never played with someone that’s cheating, I’ve never seen anyone I’ve played with banned for cheating,” she wrote. “The guy I’ve played with also isn’t banned and asked me to queue yesterday so that just doesn’t make sense. He’s not banned and I’m not banned, so how am I playing with a cheater?”

She then shares a screenshot of an email from Riot’s anti-cheat team dated September 27. “I’ve never been boosted or boosted anyone so I have no reason to be suspended from Riot events.”

With Valorant Game Changers Series 3 well underway, it seems like Slaze will be missing out on her shot at the trophy.