Overwatch might be the "new kid on the block" when it comes to competitive eSports, but with Blizzard behind the wheel, it is quickly becoming a powerhouse.
Naturally, cheating is a concern with competitive games of this nature, and Blizzard was clear right off the bat that it wouldn't be tolerated, as it has already followed through on its stance on at least one occasion.
Recently, Blizzard was poised to drop the hammer once again after a 17-year-old pro player from Korea known as Gegury was reported for cheating. Why? Because she is so good that it was inconceivable that someone could play that well without tampering with the game in some way.
In the video above, you can see her dominating the competition as Zarya, and that wasn't a onetime show, either. She brings that same level of play to pretty much every game, and her stats are evidence of that, featuring an impressive KDA of 6.31 and a win rate of 80 percent with 420 games played.
Unfortunately for her, it was those types of performances that soon put her under the scrutiny of her peers in Korea. It started simply enough at minor scrims and tournaments, but things escalated quite quickly when she won the qualifiers for the Nexus Cup, prompting her to be reported to Blizzard Korea, as well as targeted by two Korean Overwatch pros who were so sure she was cheating that they vowed to quit if she was found to be innocent.
Naturally, Blizzard Korea took the accusation seriously and launched an investigation. However, much to her detractors' chagrin, Blizzard concluded what more level-headed people had been saying from the get-go: Gegury wasn't cheating, she's just that good. Then, to add insult to injury, she went to a studio at Korean games broadcaster/reporter Inven to stream herself playing Overwatch live to further clear her name.
The stream (seen in the embedded video), shows her wearing a mask to obscure her identity — which was deemed necessary due to her allegedly receiving death threats beforehand — and getting emotional near the end due to stress the accusations caused.
Of course, not everyone came out of this unscathed. No, Gegury didn't get banned by Blizzard, but at least two people won't be playing competitively anymore.
Remember the two accusing pros who vowed to quit if Gegury was found innocent? Well, true to their word, they quit.
There is a lesson to be learned in all this: if you plan to accuse someone of cheating, be sure they actually are cheating. Don't wager your professional career on such suspicions, either.
