Riot Games is investigating competitive integrity issues in VCT Pacific

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Riot Games is looking into claims of cheating and unfair play within the VCT Pacific league.

Jake Sin, the head of VCT Pacific, has stated that Riot Games is currently investigating concerns about cheating and fairness within the region’s competitive scene.

Riot Games responds to alleged cheating in VCT Pacific

Jake Sin, who leads esports for VALORANT in Asia-Pacific, has responded to recent worries about fairness in the region’s competitions.

This response was issued after multiple competitors voiced concerns, and those concerns spread online.

A problem arose with a screenshot showing players Ko “Sylvan” Young-sub from Team Secret and Kim “Lakia” Jong-min from Gen.G not wearing their headphones correctly.

This would supposedly allow them to hear the Korean casters in the venue.

Fans of VCT Pacific were frustrated by the recent problems and felt Sin’s response was inadequate. Many in the community are now suggesting the tournament be moved to a different country. They also felt the statement discouraged others from speaking up about similar issues in the future.

Jemkin, coach FrosT raise preferential treatment for Korean teams

After losing to Paper Rex and T1, which prevented them from qualifying for Masters Santiago, Maksim Batorov, also known as “Jemkin,” spoke about the problems his team was facing.

Jemkin claims the tournament operators showed favoritism towards Paper Rex. Despite the VCT Pacific team repeatedly reminding them, Paper Rex failed to unlock the map veto. While this should have resulted in a penalty, they were instead given a second chance to choose their agents.

Administrators need to address some issues, particularly instances of favoritism—which can be quite noticeable when it comes to Korean teams and those that are generally more popular. However, despite these concerns, Jemkin maintains that their loss to Paper Rex was simply due to the opposing team playing better.

Afterward, Jemkin brought up the headset issue in a now-deleted post on X.

During a recent episode of the SpikeTalk podcast, Global Esports coach Hector “FrosT” Rosario discussed his views on the topic.

Rather than addressing a player’s initial silence and subsequent expression of frustration, the team immediately tries to suppress his concerns, like they’re trying to hide a problem.

I totally agree with Jemkin, and FrosT brought up something really important too. He was talking about the smoking situation and basically said that T1 is getting way more special treatment than anyone else. He even said, and I quote, “Trust me… T1 is very special. The preference for them is insane!” It’s just not fair to the other teams.

FrosT felt just as strongly about the problems with the headsets and pointed out other concerns, such as coaches being able to view the crowd. He believes the league doesn’t prioritize fair play, stating, ‘Competitive integrity is not what this league cares about.’

He explained that there’s a deeply ingrained tendency to protect people within the region. He said, “Even if you presented clear evidence of a murder – a body with gunshot wounds – they would likely deny it and claim the person died of natural causes, like a heart attack.”

The coach has accepted that his team is at a disadvantage. He plans to prepare as if opponents have access to their practice sessions and are unfairly gaining an edge during competitions, stating, “I’m going to act as if everyone has my scrims, and everyone’s cheating on stage.”

Professional VALORANT play continues in Masters Santiago, beginning Feb. 28.

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2026-02-27 18:11