Tournament officials eventually began to suspect that something was amiss.

A major scandal unfolded at an Arena of Valor tournament last year when an elaborate deception was uncovered: one of the participants had completely manufactured her professional gaming career.

As it turns out, Warasin “Tokyogurl” Naraphat had never actually played the game. The secret behind her “competitive success” was remarkably simple — she was using remote assistance technology to have another person play on her behalf.

The ruse was exposed during a high-stakes semifinal match between Thailand and Vietnam. Organizers noticed that Tokyogurl’s in-game maneuvers were completely out of sync with her physical movements visible on the live broadcast.

Upon pausing the match, they discovered that the “pro gamer” was using Discord* to view the screen of a remote player while attempting to mimic their actions in real-time for the cameras.

Earlier this year, former Arena of Valor pro “Cheerio,” who is in a relationship with Tokyogurl, confessed to being the “ghost player” behind her screen. He issued a formal apology to the people of Thailand, the global esports community, and all parties affected by the fraud.

• *(subject to regional regulatory restrictions)

 

Source: iXBT.games