Fortnite Pros Banned for FNCS Cheating

Esports News
March 25, 2020
Jordan Ashley

More Fortnite players have been banned from the game for breaking the rules this week. This time around it was the runner up of Duos in the Fortnite Champion Series. The latest case of FNCS cheating is an allegation of teaming, which has written four talented pros of the game for the entire event.

Fortnite often has these types of stories coming out around the time of a major event. Last year’s Fortnite World Cup was rife with accusations of cheating. Since then, Epic have altered their rules. Bans for cheating can now be handed out much easier. However, this doesn’t seem to have deterred some players. Two teams of Duos still took their chances in the Fortnite Champion Series, with their tactics bringing them out pretty high in the final results.

Fortnite Pros Banned for FNCS Cheating

Logan “Bucke” Eschenburg – Team Envy

How Do Pros Cheat in the Fortnite Champion Series?

The players who have been accused of cheating were Kreo, Bucke, Keys, and Slackes. These players have all been suspended by Epic since the allegations came to light.

Claiming a team has cheated at Fortnite is a pretty serious allegation, especially when so much prize money is being thrown around. In the majority of cases though, the cheating isn’t anything as blatant as using an Aimbot. Typically, it comes down to teaming. This is what the pros accused of FNCS cheating have been doing.

Teaming is where two players or more on separate work together despite competing with each other in the game. There are a few different forms of cheating that are specifically banned by Epic:

  • Teaming – This is where players who shouldn’t be working together do work together.
  • Planned Movement – Arranging with other players where and how you’re going to move around the map ahead of time is cheating.
  • Communication – Sending verbal or non-verbal signals to other players.
  • Item Dumping – Intentionally dumping items for others to collect.

While few would disagree that these are all forms of cheating, they’re hard to pin down. Teaming when done well can be hard to detect. The line between planned movement and practising with a full squad can get messy too. The pros involved in FNCS cheating, however, were a little more blatant. They manipulated the game to give the storm surge to certain players. This is a mechanic that only affects the player who has done the least damage in the game.

The Response to FNCS Cheating

Cheating in Fortnite is nothing new. The latest batch of rules for the games essentially gives Epic the power to ban players for as much as excessive crouching if they think there was some cheating-based reason behind it. However, some have criticised Epic for being too trigger happy with the bans. The pros caught cheating in the latest FNCS game have denied the allegations and suggested Epic need to be actually investigating claims rather than just instinctively banning.

Other pros have weighed in. For the most part, their response is pretty textbook:

How Widespread is FNCS Cheating?

Cheating is Fortnite is a lot more widespread than it should be. Cheating scandals occur in pretty much every major event. While Epic is trying hard to cut down on it, the way Fortnite tournaments are organized may be partially to blame.

Having completely open tournaments played from the comfort of home makes cheating seem a little less risky. When compared with cheating at a major event, doing so from your own PC in one of six tournaments held every week isn’t as much of a risk. Epic’s commitment to open tournaments makes cheating a little more widespread, but as long as players are caught they can be locked out of getting any rewards for this behaviour.

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