After the three bans imposed yesterday, Hearthstone Esports now bans Silvername and Advo. What’s going on in Battlegrounds?
No, this is not an April Fools joke, Hearthstone Esports has banned Silvername and Advo, after cheating accusations. Minutes ago, Hearthstone Esports updated their ineligible player list, including Advo and Silvername bans.
Silvername and Advo Banned
Silvername, former Grandmaster and Russia’s biggest Hearthstone streamer, was in the spotlight this morning after accusations of collusion. Roman Bazar tweeted a series of screenshots where Silvername, on stream, was playing with a friend in the same lobby. This by itself wouldn’t be a problem, but they agreed not to put minions on board, and that is collusion.
According to Roman Bazar, Advo was also engaging in this kind of cheating behavior with Silvername, and that might end up causing their bans. Yesterday, Advo was part of Battlegrounds cheating drama when he was accused of win-trading with one of his smurf accounts. While this case is not clear, we now have some proof of how he cooperated with Silvername on high MMR lobbies.
In one of Silvername’s YouTube videos, any Battlegrounds player can notice that Advo’s positioning doesn’t make any sense. This could be understood as cooperation between Advo and Silvername, which is not allowed and is considered cheating, and the reason for a ban. Furthermore, Silvername’s video title reads “Win with Teammate” according to Roman Bazar’s translation.
Silvername's Response
On Twitter, Silvername made his public appeal for his ban. Despite not sharing details of the ban received, the Russian player stated that he was being unfairly disqualified. Silvername gave context for the videos, arguing that happened before Battleground competitive seasons had even started. It seems that this is only the beginning.
Massive Bans
Hearthstone Esports reacted in a quick fashion delivering bans within 48hours of the beginning of this Battlegrounds cheating scandal. On top of Silvername and Advo bans, the ineligible player lists also include three other accounts involved in the drama. OnMyMind#21134, Cherkash#21807, JesusSoul#2546, the three accounts flagged by Ixxdeee for stream sniping and win-trading received a one year ban.
Despite Hearthstone Esports doesn’t disclose investigations processes, we can understand that Silvername’s and Advo’s situation is different than the three previously mentioned accounts. Silvername and Advo received a 6-month ban, instead of a year-long suspension.
Finally, remember that Battlegrounds will have its first Hearthstone Esports competitive event this weekend. As much as we would like to talk about the players competing in Raid Leaders, it is important to highlight that Hearthstone Esports is investigating any suspicious behavior.
Stay tuned to Esports.gg for Hearthstone news and updates. See you next time in Bob’s tavern.