Lea is an esports journalist with too many interests and too little time. Covering esports stories for more than 3 years, she likes to spend her days (and nights) watching and analysing competitive VALORANT. Lea is also deeply invested in DEI issues and promoting mental health awareness within her industry.
Olivia Richman is a seasoned esports journalist who has worked with Inven Global, Esports Illustrated, Esports.gg, and more. As an editor and writer at Esports Insider, she loves telling unique esports stories, especially within the FGC. When not working and gaming, Olivia loves collecting Kirby plush, eating sushi, and driving her cars at the track.
VALORANT Masters London ’s second Playoffs day kicked off last week with a three-map thriller between VCT EMEA darkhorse FUT Esports and VCT China legend Champions EDward Gaming (EDG). Tension was brewing throughout the series, with FUT Esports delivering banter on stage and receiving boos from the audience in return.
What followed after the series, though, was far more problematic. FUT Esports player Efe “s0pp” Tur became a target of online harassment and death threats due to racism allegations. A clip where s0pp yelled ‘’ZmjjKK, you can’t hold sh**!’’on stage was misunderstood as a racist remark by some VCT China fans.
hello chinese fans i think u guys misunderstood what i say its “kankang u cant hold shit” not something racist yes we are competing and for me shooting bodies are making much fun to watch especially when the players are from my hometown or from my region but i would never… https://t.co/QnAETPrzPE pic.twitter.com/iYRo2Omo9V
S0pp’s case is not the only one of its kind. In recent months, there have been numerous incidents of parasocial behavior, online toxicity, and boundary crossing from VALORANT community members impacting players, staff, and their loved ones.
VALORANT esports fans have been going too far, and perhaps it’s on Riot Games to take a stance.
Image Credit: Image credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games ‘’It affected me because of all the hate. This morning I got really supportive messages from players and my friends, they know I did nothing wrong,’’ s0pp shared with media outlet Hotspawn after his second Playoffs match. “I don’t think it really affected me for this match. It helped me know who I am & how I want to act.”
While s0pp thankfully seemed to have recovered from the wave of harassment, this shouldn’t have to be the norm for esports players. I think most players would agree that banter is welcome from all sides, including opposing teams and fandoms.
The same should also apply to critical feedback. If a player or team said or did something harmful, they should be held accountable by the community.
Not only did s0pp’s racism allegations turn out unfounded, but the language and behavior displayed by his ‘’critics’’ clearly crossed a line. Death threats can cause tangible harm to a person’s mental health. Words can hurt, especially when they are shouted by a wave of thousands of voices flooding a single social media account.
It is not soft to be affected by those words. It is simply human.
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