Hackers cause EA to postpone Apex Legends pro gamer tournament
Apex Legends pro gamers were targeted by hackers, resulting in the North American tournament finals being postponed.
The North American finals of the Apex Legends tournament have been postponed after hackers attacked two gamers on professional-level teams over the weekend
"Due to the competitive integrity of this series being compromised, we have made the decision to postpone the NA finals at this time," Respawn Entertainment, the EA-owned studio that developed Apex Legends, announced in a post on X. "We will share more information soon."
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Twitch viewers could see the hacks deployed in real-time, as well as the surprised reactions from the pro gamers who realized they were being hacked. Clips have since been shared throughout social media.
In one clip, DarkZero Esports' Noyan Ozkose, known as "Genburten," notices a window pop up on his screen as he's playing the game. Suddenly, a message reading “Apex hacking global series by Destroyer2009 & R4ndom” starts spamming the chat repeatedly.
"Wait, what the fuck?" Genburten says, "I'm getting hacked."
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"It's cheating…I can see everyone," he explains to his teammates, with the video showing how the game is displaying other players behind walls that he shouldn't be able to see.
Genburten promptly leaves the game.
In another video, TSM's Phillip Dosen, aka “ImperialHal," starts shooting at another player when he realizes that he's been hacked.
"I'm cheating, I'm cheating," he shouts once he realizes what's going on. "I have aimbot."
Aimbot is a cheating software that helps players accurately shoot in a game by automatically aiming at a target.
"Oh no…you've got to leave the game," his teammates responded.
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As Engadget noted, EA has struggled with cheaters in its games, causing backlash from fans who feel like the company has prioritized the issue. In addition, EA laid off hundreds of employees just last month. The company also canceled a Star Wars first-person shooter that Respawn Entertainment was working on.
The decision to postpone the North American finals for Apex Legends was made on Sunday night. As of publishing time on Monday, no further announcements regarding the tournament or the hacks have been made.