12 PUBG pros banned for cheating or allowing teammates to cheat

On December 19 of last year, PUBG Corp began "a global investigation on all the currently active professional PUBG players to uncover any potential in-game bans related to the use of unauthorized programs on their accounts." As a result, four players—Cuhris, Liammm, DevowR, and Tefl0n—were banned from competitive play on December 31. But the pro ban wave wasn't over.

Earlier this week, PUBG Corp announced that 12 more players have been added to the list. Four players are accused of cheating during public matches, and will each receive two-year suspensions from competition. Six players are accused of cheating during competitive play, and will each receive three-year suspensions from competition. Two of the players identified did not cheat, but PUBG Corp says that they're also being slapped with three-year suspensions "on the grounds that they were fully knowledgeable about their teammates’ using an unauthorized program during PEL Qualifiers."

Those suspended for using an 'unauthorized program' in professional matches are:

Papaya
Cabecao
swalker
zuppaa
Houlow
sezk0

Those suspended for using an 'unauthorized program' in public matches are:

Avalon
Smitty
TEXQS
S1D

The last two, THZ and Fr_Steph, are accused of knowingly allowing Sans Domicile Fixe teammates Houlow and sezk0 to cheat during professional matches. "We believe that condoning the cheating activities of teammates to share the common benefit should be as severely punished as performing the activities itself," writes PUBG Corp in the announcement.

"In the future, before any official esports competition, all participating players will go through a comprehensive background check on all their accounts, and any player with incriminating evidence of having used an unauthorized program will be suspended and prevented from competing," says the developer.

Sans Domicile Fixe has lost its Contenders League spot, because all of its players have been suspended. However, "the organization will be permitted to join any subsequent events with an entirely new roster, since we have no suspicion the organization was aware of the cheating activities by the players."

Red Diamonds can compete so long as player S1D is replaced, and Pittsburgh Knights may compete if TEXQS is replaced.

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.