Esports league postponed after players hacked midgame
techcrunch.comOn Sunday, two competitive esports players appeared to get hacked during a live streamed game, prompting the organizers to postpone the tournament.
Players were competing in the Apex Legends Global Series, a competitive esports tournament for the popular shooter game Apex Legends, which has a $5 million total prize pool.
During two separate games, two different players suddenly gained cheats in the middle of their matches.
“Wait, what the fuck? I’m getting hacked, I’m getting hacked bro, I’m getting hacked,” said Genburten, holding his hands up during the game, according to a video they posted on X, which was also posted on multiple YouTube channels.
A screenshot of an Apex Legends player, during a game in which he appeared to get hacked mid-game.
In the video, it’s clear that at one point — abruptly — Genburten starts seeing other players highlighted on the map, even those behind walls. This is what is called “wallhack,” essentially a cheat that allows hackers to see opponents through in-game obstacles.
Before that, for a split moment, a window appears on their screen, with what looks like a menu for a tool to enable cheats, titled “TSM HALAL HOOK.”
A screenshot of a window, showing cheating modes, that suddenly appears in a competitive Apex Legends game.
At the same time, the game’s chatbot shows a message that appears to come from the hackers: “Apex hacking global series, by Destroyer2009 &R4andom.”
In the other match, something similar happens to another competitive Apex Legends player, ImperialHal, who also posted the sequence on their X account.
“I’m cheating, I’m cheating, I’m cheating, I’m fucking cheating,” said ImperialHal. “I got aimbot!” said ImperialHal repeatedly, referring to a common cheating technique that allows players to automatically aim at enemies, essentially getting the ability to hit opponents and other players without aiming at them. “What if I just don’t shoot? What if I just don’t shoot?”
Following these hacks, the organizers of the tournament
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