ARISE alleges VCSA allowed Riot-banned player to compete

ARISE Esports India posted on X that a team in the Valorant Challengers South Asia (VCSA) 2026 circuit continued to field a player after Riot issued a cheating ban for that player. ARISE wrote it had previously flagged suspicious account-switching to tournament organizers and alleged those reports were not acted on. The post did not name the team or the player. Neither Riot Games nor NODWIN Gaming, which runs the VCSA in partnership with Riot, has publicly responded to the complaint.

VCSA 2026 is organized by NODWIN Gaming with Riot Games and serves as the official South Asian pathway to the VCT Last Chance Qualifier. Placements in the circuit determine which South Asian teams advance to larger VCT events. The 2025 VCSA attracted more than 12 million views and peaked at about 50,000 concurrent viewers. Velocity Gaming earned a VCT Ascension Pacific slot through the circuit last year.

Riot’s published rules require competitors to accept the Global Code of Conduct. Players banned by Riot for cheating are ineligible to compete in sanctioned events for the duration of their bans. Riot’s anti-cheat team works with tournament operators to review suspicious behavior, and operators are expected to verify player identity, confirm account ownership and enforce roster compliance. ARISE’s account-switching allegation relates to those verification requirements.

ARISE asked organizers to acknowledge the complaint, disclose whether earlier account-switching reports were investigated, and explain any decision to allow a banned player to compete. The organization wrote, ‘India gets embarrassed on bigger stages because competitive integrity isn’t taken seriously.’

Competitive integrity concerns have appeared before in Indian esports. In 2021 a professional Valorant player admitted to using wallhacks during a livestream. In 2018 a CS:GO player, Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat, was caught using an aimbot at an international event, an incident that affected franchise interest in the region. Previously, we reported that India named nine coaches for Esports Nations Cup 2026 in Riyadh.

At present the allegation remains an unverified public complaint. No formal investigation has been announced and no official statement has been issued by NODWIN or Riot. The identity of the team and the player has not been made public.