Match-fixing scandal in Valorant Challengers North America: What’s going on?
Match-fixing and cheating are eternal problems that have faced organized competitions forever. As the esports industry has grown, its underbelly of illegal activity has matched its pace. Whereas 10 years ago players would throw games for a few hundred dollars, many tier-two players nowadays can face five-figure offers to throw, according to Sean Gares. The former coach and player released a video statement alleging Valorant’s Challengers league to be one of the newest tournaments infected by this illicit activity.
Last week, Sean “sgares” Gares posted a video statement about evidence pointing to cheating and match-fixing in North America’s second-tier Valorant leagues. Sean Gares is part of the Valorant scene himself with Shopify Rebellion, and this issue is close to home for him. Esports Charts has collected everything you need to know about the ongoing Valorant NA Challengers discourse.
Who is Sean Gares?
Sean Gares is the General Manager of Shopify Rebellion’s tactical shooter division. He has worked in esports for over a decade, and older fans might know him from his Counter-Strike days. After a decade of competition, he moved on from competing as a player and began working as a caster and streamer.
In more recent years, Sean Gares began working as a coach in Valorant, bringing his decades of tactical FPS experience to newer rosters. In 2022, he worked with the North American team 100 Thieves, leading them to their first and only Champions appearance. After another stint as a streamer, he joined Shopify Rebellion as GM late last year.
What does Sean Gares say about NA Challengers and match-fixing?
In his video, Sean Gares hints at widespread corruption, cheating, and underground gambling. He also mentions coordinated involvement from esports organizations, organizing match-fixing and blackmailing players after the fact, and that some people may have had help from tournament officials. In some cases, he says players can earn up to six figures for throwing a series of matches.
— Sean Gares (@seangares) May 16, 2025
As a current competitor in Valorant, Sean Gares felt particularly angered by what he uncovered. He understands these issues harm legitimate players, but he also pointed to the financial instability of the Challengers scene as a potential root cause for these sorts of issues. He lists names of esports organizations that have come through the revolving door of Challengers; it wasn't feasible for organizations to stay in the league, leaving countless jobs empty behind them.
Some players in financial trouble may be especially tempted by bribes; something the North American scene remembers well from the IBuyPower fiasco in Counter-Strike. This side of the story is something a fan favorite, and former pro, Tyson “TenZ” Ngo echoed in his own X post.
TenZ adds his opinion on the state of Challengers in North America
TenZ addressed his issues with the Challengers scene with a statement on X. In a nutshell, the former pro feels Riot Games rushed the franchising system onto Challengers without significant financial support or incentive for organizations. He continued, “it's honestly not surprising that match-fixing for money eventually happened.” TenZ also compared the situation to the ‘crypto throwing’ scandal, which plagued the North American Ranked system in-game. And apparently still does.
“Lastly, streaming the game and trying to create content around ranked has been a nightmare. Every streamer constantly getting stream-sniped, which forces people to delay stream and ultimately kill chat interaction. Matches are being thrown — again — either for money or to help others climb and reach high spots on the competitive leaderboard, even though it’s ultimately pointless.”
What is crypto throwing?
‘Crypto throwing’ simply refers to purposefully losing, or ‘throwing’, in exchange for cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin). Some websites even let users vote on in-game Ranked matches, featuring top streamers like TenZ or Tarik “tarik” Çelik. This issue has been prominent in esports for years, with reports of crypto throwing in League of Legends emerging as early as 2022. In early 2023, the news of crypto throwers in Valorant went viral, coinciding with tarik’s announcement of a special third-party league to combat the issue.
So, if a bettor can end up on a streamer’s team in Ranked, they can place a large bet on the streamer to lose and then throw the game. Many throwers often make large sums of money through this, making it almost impossible for top pros and streamers to play competitively in Ranked.
Eventually, tarik was fed up and created Pro City in early 2023: an invite-only league made up of professional players and top players from the leaderboard. Tarik’s Pro City was massively popular with both players and viewers for a long while, offering that third-party, competitive atmosphere that so many Counter-Strike fans are used to.
Crypto throwing was an insidious problem building up in Valorant’s competitive scene for years, and now, it has apparently taken hold of the North American Challengers scene. Riot Games replied to some, but not all, of the issues recently raised by Sean Gares and TenZ.
Riot Games’ response to the situation
Sean explained in his video statement that he will wait until Riot Games can have their own investigation before he releases the evidence he has collected in his research. Riot Games answered in a statement to Sports Illustrated, “We take accusations like these extremely seriously and our Competitive Operations, Anti-Cheat, and Esports Rules & Compliance teams have been thoroughly examining the matter.” They also expanded that the investigation has found no evidence of involvement from Riot Games’ employees so far.
While Riot Games has responded vehemently to the accusations of cheating and foul play within their circuits, they have yet to respond to TenZ and Sean Gares’ points about the lack of financial support in the circuit. However, TenZ previously publicly raised issues with the performance of PCs provided by the VCT Americas, and this led to Riot Games rectifying the problem.
Details are sparse on Sean Gares’ allegations of foul play in Challengers North America, but the system clearly needs more support, and its working professionals are aware of this. Valorant has a passionate and virile tier-two scene, with constant talents emerging through the in-game Ranked and Premier modes, as well as new audiences constantly tuning in to the VCT. The player base is there for a thriving tier-two circuit; the structure just has to be fine-tuned.
The Playoffs for VALORANT Challengers 2025 North America: Stage 2 kicks off on May 19, featuring eight of North America’s strongest up-and-coming talents. Currently, ENVY sits at the top of the table, having recently returned to Valorant by signing a rapidly up-and-coming streamer team, featuring in-game leader Matteo "P0PPIN" Weber: the evil genius behind the “poppin swing” phenomenon. Check out the viewership statistics of the entire Valorant Challengers circuit, every region included, with the respective Esports Charts tournament pages.
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