A female eSports pro is making waves, but not for a good reason, as it turns out she faked playing games altogether. The shocking eSports scandal has rocked the competitive community and led to unfortunate circumstances for her team members in the middle of a tournament.
Esports is a big deal, with the potential for fame and cash prizes often at stake. Unfortunately, the competition can also lead to players trying to cheat, which has led to tournament winners being stripped of their titles, and in a couple of cases, Fortnite tournament cheats have been forced to publicly apologize for their transgressions. However, it is extremely rare to have someone make it this far in an eSports competition without playing the game themselves at all.
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eSports competitor has never played a game himself
A major controversy has unfolded regarding an eSports competitor named Warasin Naphat, aka Tokyogurl. As a member of the Thailand national team for Southeast Asia 2025, she participated in the event's Arena of Valor contest on Dec. 15 when officials noticed a difference between what was happening in Tokyogurl's game plan compared to the movement of her hands. Officials investigated, and it was discovered that instead of actually playing the game, she used Discord to screen share someone playing the game remotely, acting as her. As a result, Tokyogurl was eliminated from the tournament, and her entire team ultimately withdrew, despite having qualified for the finals.
After the incident, Tokyogurl insisted on her innocence, but more truth has since come to light. Another Arena of Valor The eSports competitor who goes by Cheerio posted a video on TikTok revealing that he was actually playing the game being screen-shared with her phone. He has apologized for the incident, stating that he did not intend for the incident to “escalate to this point and cause disappointment to many people” and said he would accept the consequences of his actions. Since then, the only message Tokyogurl has shared was a short “I'm sorry” message on her Facebook account, apparently acknowledging the cheating scandal.
This incident will have lasting consequences for both individuals. Tokyogurl saw her contract with her club terminated shortly after, and RoV Esports has banned her for life from further competition, but since she never played herself, it's likely she wouldn't qualify for another attempt at the scene regardless. Cheerio's career is also likely in jeopardy. The president of the Asian Electronics Sports Federation and head of the Thailand eSports Association are pursuing legal action against them both “to the fullest extent.”
Cheating doesn't pay
Tokyogurl's teammates had apparently noticed some red flags before the event, such as a reluctance to participate in personal training and to hide her hands when she streamed her alleged games online. While she might be able to hide the fact that she wasn't actually playing the game while broadcasting live, participating in a competition comes with a lot of scrutiny to ensure fairness among the competitors. She was apparently added to the national team without ever having to participate in formal trials due to her reputation online, which was clearly a mistake given the results.
It's not clear why these two ever felt this was a good idea in the first place, especially since Cheerio, who had apparently competed legally on his own, will likely now be banned from future events. While Cheerio and Tokyogurl are far from the first eSports cheaters out there, this schedule backfired in spectacular fashion for both of them.
Sources: RudeVulture, Bangkok Post, TikTok
