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Valorant Game Changers team, Noot Noot, was made to forfeit its match against Complexity GX3 after one of its players was caught red-handed by Riot’s Anti-Cheat during the North America Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Game Changers Series 3 in October 2023.
Initially, Riot Games took to Twitter to announce that there was a compromise of competitive integrity. Now, almost after three months, Riot Games has released a competitive ruling against two players of Noot Noot — Madelyn "Malibu" Campos and James "Summertime" Edwards — who were involved in this issue.
Riot Games Publishes Competitive Ruling Against Malibu & Summertime
On 17th January, Riot Games revealed that Noot Noot's Madelyn "Malibu" Campos and James "Summertime" Edwards breached the VCT Game Changers Ruleset and the Riot Games Terms of Services during their game against Complexity GX3 in October 2023.
Riot made it clear that Malibu provided false information and played from another player’s account, thus circumventing a hardware ban imposed on her by the Riot Games Anti-Cheat team. As a result, Riot Games has permanently banned Malibu from "any association or affiliation with a team in any Riot-sanctioned competition, as of the day of publication of this ruling."
Meanwhile, Summertime was found to be in breach of Art. 17.6 of the VCT Game Changers Ruleset. She provided the tournament operator with a false picture of Madelyn, and attempted to assist her in providing false information during the verification process. As a result, Riot Games banned Summertime "from any association or affiliation with a team in a Riot-sanctioned competition" for one year.
What Happened During the Noot Noot vs Complexity GX3 Match?
The VCT 2023: Game Changers North America Series 3 took place between 4th and 8th October 2023 to determine the other NA representative for Valorant Game Changers Championship alongside Version1.
However, during the lower bracket quarterfinals, Noot Noot was made to forfeit its last map and subsequently its match against Complexity GX3 after one of its players was caught by Riot anti-cheat.
Following this, Riot Games announced that it shall investigate into the matter. It then promptly opened an investigation and gathered further technical evidence from the Anti-Cheat team and Competitive Operations team. It also interviewed the members of team Noot Noot.
In its findings, it noted that Malibu, prior to the match, had received multiple sanctions from Riot's Anti-Cheat team and was subject to an active hardware ban. It added, "Madelyn was aware of her standing and intentionally circumvented the hardware ban by participating in the tournament on a new computer and using another player's account."
Both Malibu and Summertime conspired and worked to play around the Riot Ruleset. Riot Games' findings also revealed that there was no evidence that other members of Noot Noot were aware of or were a part of this act. Hence, no disciplinary proceedings were opened against the other member of Noot Noot.
