Earlier today, we got news from Blizzard confirming that at this weekend’s HCT Winter Playoffs Americas event, player Apxvoid was disqualified for violating rule 7.11a – Cheating. As described by the Hearthstone esports rulebook, this includes “Stream sniping, or any general attempt by a player to spectate his or her own match or get information from another person spectating the match.”
A member from the Hearthstone community, who first posted the news from Blizzard on Twitter, later alleged that Apxvoid was talking with a friend about strategy during the game, but accidentally sent the admin this message instead.
Jacob “Apxvoid” Coen has long been a member of the Hearthstone community, which makes these accusations all the more shocking. Apxvoid is best known for his dedication to the Mage class and representing the Pittsburgh Knights esports organization.
In his several years of play, Apxvoid has gathered more than 10,000 wins on a single server for the Mage class. This is one of the highest Mage wins in all of Hearthstone. Some might also know him from his time streaming. Throughout the years, he entertained many viewers and showed the strength of Tempo Mage when nobody else considered it worth the time.
While there are still a lot of unknowns about the situation, there is no doubt that some kind of cheating attempt occurred during the Winter Playoffs this weekend.
In a statement to Daily Esports, Blizzard mentioned that it will be reviewing what further sanctions might be in order, such as suspensions from competitive play if necessary. Additional sanctions will be updated in the Hearthstone Esports Administrative Rulings Blog, which can be found on the Hearthstone esports website.
For more coverage surrounding the HCT Winter Playoffs, check out our articles on the most interesting decklists played at the events in Europe and the Americas.
