A recent unfounded allegation of match-fixing has put North America’s tier two VALORANT scene under scrutiny for a month, but Riot Games has since cleared all parties involved, highlighting the potential harm these accusations can cause to players and the wider community.
In an announcement made by Riot Games on July 30, they concluded that the information gathered during their investigation was inadequate to support any claims of cheating, orchestrated manipulation, or betting-related misconduct involving players, teams, or organizations.
The investigation commenced after Sean Gares, a notable creator and former professional player, publicly suggested in May that dubious betting patterns indicated involvement in match-fixing by non-partnered North American VALORANT teams. His viral comments led Riot to launch an inquiry to assess any violations of competitive integrity.
According to Riot, the investigation involved three of its internal units (League Operations, Esports Compliance, and Anti-Cheat), working alongside reputable integrity partners including Sportradar, GRID, and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA). The significant findings released in the report are as follows:
- No evidence of cheating or suspicious activities.
- No matches during Stage one and Stage two of the 2025 North America Challengers League were identified as suspicious regarding betting market behavior.
- Upon reviewing viral betting slip images, Riot deemed the allegations unfounded, as the content and layout did not correspond with North America Challengers’ style, and the source of the images was untraceable. No unusual betting trends were discovered.
- The Broadcast Engineering team and Americas Competitive Operations at Riot found no misuse of clean feed access protocols, confirming adherence to industry standards throughout the process.
- Riot conducted inquiries into claims of employee misconduct but was unable to obtain direct evidence or credible statements from the sources. Therefore, these claims were considered baseless based on the comprehensive investigation.
- Further examinations, which included open source intelligence analysis and performance assessments of the players and teams mentioned in the allegations, as well as relational mapping, produced no «actionable evidence.»
In conclusion, Riot stressed the importance of credible whistleblowing for maintaining competitive integrity, but cautioned that false or exaggerated accusations can disrupt lives, waste resources, and diminish trust within the community.
The organization also pointed out that match-fixing and similar forms of integrity-related misconduct may be illegal in various jurisdictions, potentially jeopardizing careers and resulting in legal repercussions. «Such actions can have significant real-world consequences,» Riot noted. «Reports should always rely on credible evidence or observations.»
Despite the recent turmoil, Riot encourages individuals with legitimate evidence to come forward. Players and community members who suspect illegal activities in VALORANT should refrain from direct involvement, preserve any evidence, and report their findings discreetly, trusting the established integrity-first procedure.
