How did ICE Nomsenpai attempt to bypass Valorant's anti-cheat in an official VCT event?

Valorant has been at the forefront of FPS gaming since its early 2020 release.

Every step of the way, Riot Games have attempted to ensure the competitive integrity of the game. An instance of cheating, however, was recorded recently in an official VCT fixture, to everyone's astonishment.

Vietnamese Valorant player Tất Cẩm "Nomsenpai" Khôn, a member of "Ice Cee Jay Too" is the player in question.

Nomsenpai was caught in the act during the semi-final matchup in Qualifier #4 of VCT 2022: Vietnam Stage 1 Challengers. While the incident was not immediately identified, the decision to ban the player arrived soon after.

---

Nomsenpai tries to cheat his way into Valorant Champions Tour

The use of "hacks" or "cheats" is not new to FPS gaming. In a skill-based environment that encompasses a global audience, it is common to come across players who use illegal 3rd party assistance to enhance their in-game performance. However, this leaves a deep crater in the integrity of the game's environment.

Valorant's developers have been persistent in safeguarding the game from cheaters and clearing out the existing ones. Riot Vanguard, their in-house anti-cheat software, has been highly effective in this regard.

Nomsenpai and his newly formed team - Ice Cee Jay Too - competed in 2 VCT fixtures in the Stage 1 Vietnam Open Qualifiers before the player was caught cheating. Ice Cee Jay Too managed to claim consecutive victories in their outing. However, Nomsempai's evident cheating attempt led to their downfall.

While the team is exempt from cheating allegations, they were disqualified from the event in accordance with VCT's rules. Nomsenpai received a 36-month ban from all Riot organized events, starting on January 26, 2022.

---

What cheats did Nomsenpai use?

Thousands of different cheats exist within online gaming communities. Due to the strict administration of Riot Vanguard, cheat developers are always on the lookout for new techniques to bypass anti-cheat software, leading to the development of a myriad of diverse cheating applications that are created for the purpose of bypassing Riot Vanguard.

From the evident footage of Nomsenpai's cheating attempts, a basic framework of his cheating software can be analyzed. In Ice Cee Jay Too's fixture on Haven against Nghiện Thêm Lần Nữ, Nomsenpai assumed the role of Chamber for his team.

In the given footage, Chamber entered Garage and tried to shoot Jett, the enemy in his vision. What happened immediately afterwards adds strength to the cheating accusation.

Nomsenpai suspiciously switched his crosshair towards an unknown enemy heading towards C-site without seeing the player. In the process, he also fired shots that accurately tracked the enemy who was yet to appear in his Field of Vision (FOV). This can clearly indicate the use of aim-hacks of some sort.

Aim-hacks or "Aimbot" are types of online gaming cheats that allow players to enhance their aiming ability. Unique varieties of these cheats are available throughout the internet.

Nomsenpai could also have resorted to wallhacks as well, which allow players to see an outline of their enemies throughout the map without them entering their FOV.

From the footage, we can infer that Nomsenpai's aimbot allows him to lock on to incoming enemies irrespective of their location in the player's FOV. As a result, the user gets an unfair advantage in terms of reaction time and accuracy. The cheat, however, was too conspicuous to be used in an official Valorant fixture, and received its rightful consequences.

With the help of Riot Vanguard, Valorant's developers have managed to identify individuals who have attempted to sabotage the game's competitive integrity and hand them appropriate punishments.

---