Warzone team banned from $250k Twitch Rivals event after cheating scandal

The $250K Twitch Rivals Doritos Bowl Warzone event hit a major snag in the road on January 21, as alleged cheaters were disqualified from the competition ahead of the closing round.

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One of the biggest Warzone events to date set the scene for one of the biggest cheating scandals to date. Amidst the five-rounds of private lobby action, a number of Warzone’s veteran competitors began to accuse players of cheating in the tournament.

The Trio of METZY_B, kyrptic_j0ker, & Unifyz were disqualified from the competition in light of these allegations. This ban came through before players dropped into the fifth and final match of the day.

“Based on the evidence submitted from various sources in and out of the tournament, [Twitch has] determined that [their] gameplay was unnatural beyond a reasonable doubt,” event host Caleb ‘WavePunk’ Simmons explained.

As a result of their disqualification, Twitch opted to move forward with the event. Rather than restarting or replaying on a different date, the fifth map continued with one less team.

Accusations made against Metzy_B

Accusations started piling up after the fourth round of action. Players noticed some extremely sharp aim coming from METZY_B in particular. 

• Read More: Tommey accuses world Warzone record-holder of cheating

Resident Warzone investigator Tommey was soon on the case, as he began to dissect the footage. It was peculiar auto-aim that caught his eye, as the suspected cheater immediately “locked on” to an opposing player in the clip.

Given the $250K up for grabs, there was plenty at stake. $45,000 was on the line for the winning team, while even a last place finish would have awarded the alleged cheaters $1,200. However, METZY_B and his team were “ineligible for prizing,” Twitch soon confirmed. 

Naturally, it didn’t take long for the controversy to spill across social media, with many of Warzone’s biggest names repeating their gripes with the lack of an effective anti-cheat system.

“Unfortunately without anti-cheat, authentic Warzone tournaments just aren’t possible anymore,” NICKMERCS said. “There’s too much cheese & way too many rats.”

Despite this, it later became clear that, perhaps, the players in the tournament had jumped the gun early with their accusations…

METZY_B clears his name

After being kicked from the tournament, METZY_B joined Tommey’s Discord call in an attempt to clear his name, showing his PC, the programs he’s been using and more.

While METZY wasn’t reinstated to the tournament, some critics have deleted their tweets and Tommey, after investigating the situation, conceded that he got it wrong this time and there “wasn’t enough to go as far as it did.”

He later clarified that he played no part in reporting METZY to the admins of the tournament or forcing his removal, but the player is “more than welcome to take his earnings” from the event.

Game five continued with one less team in the lobby. Champions were crowned and the $250K prize pool was split accordingly. Be sure to check out our event hub for a full recap of the troubled Twitch Rivals Warzone tournament.