The fallout from Sean Gares’ match fixing investigation has already begun, with one player being benched by their organisation and Riot having released a statement.
“Player” benched by FlyQuest RED
One of the subjects of Gares’ video was Bob “Bob” Tran, a player who competes in the NA Challengers league for Blue Otter while simultaneously representing FlyQuest RED in the Game Changers circuit.
Shortly after Sean Gares’ video was released, FlyQuest RED seemingly took the swift decision to bench Bob pending their own investigation.
In a post on X, the organisation said that it had been made aware of an allegation of compromised competitive integrity against one of its players, and that the player would be benched while the team completes an investigation.
‘We’ve been made aware of accusations of compromised competitive integrity towards one of our VALORANT GC players.
‘We have decided to bench the player and will be using a stand-in until we complete an investigation of the situation.’
In contrast, Blue Otter chose to await further evidence before suspending its players, with both Bob and Adam “Fair” Elheroun having been highlighted in Gares’ investigation. In a post on X, the organisation stated that, while they “take these accusations very seriously and will fully condemn the actions of these players if these allegations turn out to be true”, they believe Gares “missed the mark” with his video and could “significantly hurt any future opportunities” of the players in question if his suspicions are unfounded.
Blue Otter’s statement in full:
‘Sean Gares recently put out a video about the Tier 2 Valorant scene. In this video, he accused a couple of the Blue Otter players for match fixing and/or cheating. We take these accusations very seriously and will fully condemn the actions of these players if these allegations turn out to be true. As of right now, we will continue to support these players until more concrete evidence comes to light. Accusation of this magnitude, and from a large influencer in the scene, could significantly hurt any future opportunities of these players if the allegations are false and could further hurt the Tier 2 scene. We applaud Sean for trying to make the scene a better place by trying to bring problematic players into the light, but we believe he missed the mark on this one.
‘We have supported the Blue Otter VCL roster for about 7 months. The entire team practices almost every day and is continuously trying to improve so that they can qualify for the Ascension tournament. We would be extremely disappointed if Fair and Bob are guilty of match fixin and will support any ruling that Riot Games makes.’
Riot Games responds
VALORANT developer Riot Games was quick to comment on the revelations, releasing a statement through the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) X account, signed by Leo Faria, Global Head of VALORANT Esports & Commissioner of the VCT.
The company had already announced via a statement to Esports.gg that it would be investigating match fixing allegations following Sean Gares’ initial posts about the issue.
Now after the release of Gares’ 1-hour video, Riot has provided some further details into its investigation. The company emphasised that the allegations are being taken “extremely seriously” and they’ve been collecting information since the issues were shared with them earlier this month.
Riot explained that it has already been in “proactive” talks with its integrity partners at the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), sportsbook analysis company Sportradar, and competitive gaming data platform GRID.
‘We are committed to a thorough, fair, and evidence-based process. These investigations are complex and may take time, but we will follow every credible lead. This means verifying the accuracy of these allegations with concrete evidence, which at times are not available. Whistleblowers play an important role in situations like this, and while we value and encourage community reports, only evidence-based investigations can lead to action.
‘It’s worth remembering that match-fixing isn’t just against our rules, it can be considered criminal activity in many places, carrying serious real-world consequences. When situations cross that line, we work closely with law enforcement and regulatory authorities to support their efforts.’
Towards the end of the statement, Riot added that, while further updates will come “when the time is right”, they are focused on following due process to ensure the integrity of their investigation. Alluding to Sean Gares’ public revealing of his findings, Riot insisted that the sharing of potentially incriminating evidence “may lead to individuals tampering with the investigation and jeopardizing its outcome”.
‘Protecting the integrity of the sport is a shared responsibility between players, teams, tournament organizers, and Riot.’
