What was earlier merely reported as accusations, has now beenconfirmed. Gears pro, Arody “Praized” Dipre of Team EnVyUs,did in fact cheat in this past 2k series, a tournament series inwhich players compete to earn their way into the Gears 4 MLG LaunchInvitational. The Coaltion, the developers of Gears of War, havereleased a statement in which they state that theplayer will be banned from “GameBattles in Gears of War:Ultimate Edition for 30 days, as well as being banned fromparticipating in the Gears of War 4 MLG Launch Invitational event.”The team that had Praized on the recovered account will also haveall of their Gears Pro Points removed, essentially eliminating allof the involved players from possibly making it into the LaunchInvitational.
@MLGand @GameBattlesstaff along with The Coalition have investigated and ruled on theSept 11 2K Series violation: https://t.co/pVvLM1U70U
— Gears of War eSports (@eSportsGears) September14, 2016
Praized has since issued his own statement via TwitLonger, in which he goes into detail about theevents that unfolded. Apparently, he recovered another account inorder to fill in for a player that was at work at the time of thetournament.
I made a mistake.
Read: https://t.co/C5JiYcYZqb
— EnVy Praized (@EnVy_PraizedZ) September14, 2016
The team made it to round three of the tournament, where theyfaced Envision, the team that would also find out it was Praized onone of the accounts. After a feud between ex-coach, Loviel “Velly” Cardwell and the Envision squad,screenshots were leaked that showed the Envision playersbelieving Praized had account recovered for the team they lostto. They also showed what appears to be a secret deal in which theteam that had Praized on an alternate account would give the win toEnvision. In turn, Envision would not publicly out theplayer. 
Nothing has been said in regards to potential sanctions againstEnvision for attempting to cover up the matter, but in wake ofPraized’s ban, EnVyUs coach Ryan “RyanFoolz” Summers, stated that they willannounce a temporary fifth shortly.
We will announce who our 5th for the LaunchEvent will be in the coming days.
— EnVy Ryan (@RyanFoolz_nV) September14, 2016
This is all an unfortunate turn of events, as Gears esports willbe without one of it’s finest stars as they launch the new title,but the quick and decisive action shown forth by The Coaltion andMajor League Gaming shows that they will be taking the esportseriously.
As competitors viewed by thousands of fans, pro players areambassadors of the game and esport, and must be a constant beaconof competitive integrity and fair play. Though we’ll miss out onseeing Praized perfrom at the Launch Invitational, the Gears 4 proseason is full of many events in which the star will have plenty ofopportunity to make up for his actions. As the saying goes, winningcures everything.
What do you think about Praized’s actions? Let us know bycommenting below or tweeting us @GAMURScom.
photo credits: esportsGears
