Riot clear Valorant pro Ardiis following cheating & match fixing allegations

[jwplayer chQ8y6w9]Former CS:GO turned Valorant pro, Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks, has been cleared by Riot Games of wrongdoing after the developers’ investigation revealed no evidence of cheating and/or match-fixing.

Update (June 23): Riot clear ardiis

On June 23, ardiis told +1pv that Riot had been in contact and that he’s been cleared of the charges that stemmed from cheating accusations back on June 16.

“I am delighted to announce that the allegations against me have been proven FALSE after RIOT have conducted a full investigation,” the player said. “I am not sure exactly what they investigated, however, they did say that they looked into every accusation and found no wrong-doing on my part. Thank you to everyone who has supported me. I am now fully focused on developing as a player and cannot wait to compete at the highest level.”

Update (June 16): ardiis responds to allegations

Following the release of the original report, ardiis released a statement refuting any involvement with cheating and/or match-fixing in either CS:GO or Valorant. Within his statement, ardiis said: “I have never match fixed or cheated in any game — nor will I ever do so.”

While the Valorant pro doesn’t deny any involvement in the conversation shown in the original report, he does state that he did not follow through with the allegations that were made towards him. “I could not overcome the thought of how many people I would be cheating out of a position in [FACEIT Pro League], many of whom work tirelessly to even have the chance to qualify.”

Original: Valorant pro ardiis accused of attempting to cheat and match-fix

The Valorant pro scene is still in its infancy. While players are flocking to Valorant from all corners of the esports realm, the game is developing as an esport — and will continue to do so for some time.

While big names such as Adil ‘ScreaM’ Benrlitom, Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin and Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won all pledging their efforts to the Valorant grind, there has been one player who has been taking all the spoils on the European side of things.

• Read more: Valorant leak gives players first look at Bombshell’s turret ability

Former Counter-Strike player ardiis has been dominating in Europe; winning almost every tournament throughout the closed beta and during the opening weeks after the game’s official launch.

Most recently, ardiis joined forces with Óscar ‘Mixwell’ Cañellas Colocho to claim first place in the Twitch Rivals alongside ScreaM and two former Swedish CS pros. A report has surfaced claiming that ardiis approached a cheat-maker to provide him with a private cheat, and also approached fellow players about potential match-fixing.

With their report, ‘Itsgamerdoc’ stated that a cheat developer has informed them that ardiis requested them to “build him a private cheat for Valorant as well as wanting to engage in match-fixing in the game.”

• Read more: Game-breaking Valorant exploit lets players stack objects on Reyna’s Leer

According to a conversation between Itsgamerdoc and the cheat developer in question, ardiis had previously used cheats in CS:GO. “Yes he did cheat, but basically he used a ‘radar hack’ on a second monitor via share link on CSGO. He did this in a qualifier — anything that could get him on a betting website, he would use the radar hack on a second monitor.”

The second part of the accusation states that ardiis asked Jack ‘kpiz’ Pragnell to match fix, which Pragnell apparently refused. This was supplemented by a video supposedly featuring ardiis discussing how he’d “throw games” to manipulate betting odds.

In the video, ardiis appears under the username ‘siidra’ — ardiis spelled backward. According to his CS:GO Liquipedia page, this is an alternative alias that has been used by Svarenieks in the past.

The report also points towards ardiis’ previous history with cheating in CS:GO, and calls to question all of Fish123’s recent victories in Valorant. On June 14, Fish123 announced that ardiis would be leaving the roster, with the remaining core of the roster sticking together.

With Riot vowing to maintain competitive integrity in Valorant, it is possible that a full investigation will be launched into these claims.