Valorant: Two Echo 8 players banned for cheating

Image Credits: Riot Games

Cheating has finally reared its ugly head in the Valorant professional scene, as two Echo 8 members were caught using third-party applications, which led to them being permanently banned from the game.

‘Phox’ and ‘Weak’ were two of the best players in the Echo 8 line-up. They even played together under the Echo 8 banner at the EsportsDoug x eUnited Charity Clash, where Phox popped off and boasted an overall kill-to-death (K/D) of 1.45, along with an Average Combat Score of 286.

Echo 8 finished third in the competition, and Phox was able to climb up the Valorant tier in his solo-queue games and reach the Radiant rank with an incredible 75% win rate.

However, with the unfolding of recent events, Valorant fans are now quite suspicious of the legitimacy of his success.

Phox called out on cheating in Valorant

Phox put up a post on Twitter two days ago, where he explained that he would be taking a break from Valorant due to mental health issues.

However, looking at the comments in this post, that may not have been the primary reason why the pro wanted time away from the game.

If you come back, please don't cheat next time.

— Matt Paoletti (@RiotK3o) July 20, 2020

A Riot employee, Matt Paoletti, replied to the tweet by saying: If you come back, please don’t cheat next time.

Final statementRead: https://t.co/aj0lP1Mj1o

— phox (@phoxNA) July 20, 2020

Phox went on to make another statement in response, where he admitted that he is a “compulsive cheater”, and Valorant wasn’t the first competitive game where he has used cheats. He has a “problem with losing” and will not be apologising to his supporters as “I knew what I was doing and I didn’t stop”.

Weak is also in the line of fire

Phox wasn’t the only member of the Echo 8 squad who was caught using third-party software.

Weak too was involved with him, but the pro did clarify on the fact that they were the only two members who used cheats, and that no other member of the Echo 8 roster knew about it.

You are such a clown IM DONE LOL pic.twitter.com/FQUzoWyQsi

— TSM MackWood (@MackWood1x) July 20, 2020

TSM’s Mack “MackWood” Aesoph replied to Weak’s tweet with a screenshot of one of the latter's earlier posts, which claimed Weak and Phox were two of “the best players to touch this game”.

This reply is quite sarcastic, and takes a jab at the legitimacy of Weak’s successes in Valorant.

Both players have been banned

Both have now been permanently banned from the game, and their former Echo 8 team will continue to compete in the upcoming PAX Area Invitational without them.