Gares, a former professional Counter-Strike player turned coach, caster, and manager, claimed he had been independently investigating the issue for some time. \u201cI\u2019ve been looking into this for quite a bit,\u201d he said, adding that he had uncovered evidence of bribes involving \u201ctens of thousands of dollars\u201d to throw matches. While he stopped short of naming individuals or teams, he emphasized that his goal was to expose wrongdoing while ensuring innocent parties are not unfairly implicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The video quickly sent shockwaves through the VALORANT community. Gares didn\u2019t just stop at calling out match-fixing; he painted a grim picture of a fragile Tier 2 ecosystem that\u2019s been steadily deteriorating. He lamented the exit of major organizations like Complexity and FaZe Clan, and criticized the lack of sustainable support for aspiring pros. \u201cBack in the day, there wasn\u2019t much money, but people played for the love of the game. Now, there was money, and it\u2019s all disappearing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the video, other voices in the esports community echoed Gares\u2019 concerns. Timothy, the founder of tournament organizer Funhaver, corroborated some of the claims during his own livestream, criticizing Riot\u2019s mismanagement of the Tier 2 scene and expressing fears that the current system lacks the structure and investment needed to support smaller teams and new talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tournova.games\/blog\/files\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-421.jpeg\")
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