The latest round of Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) competition ended in disaster for pro player ‘Waffles’ as he encountered a game-breaking glitch and was banned shortly after.
On August 2 Epic Games made the drastic decision to disable motorboats in Fortnite. While some terrain glitches were a big factor, the main reason to shut down an insane exploit. Through a new bug, players were able to use motorboats to duplicate a limitless number of items.
Whether it’s items or ammunition, an endless amount could be generated in the blink of an eye. Obviously, using this exploit in competition would be frowned upon. However, there are also ways for players to accidentally stumble into the bug; beating an enemy and simply looting them could see your inventory overrun with infinite items.
This is exactly what happened to Waffles during a round of FNCS competition on August 1. Not only was he disqualified from the tournament, but his account was also hit with a ban, leading the Fortnite community to erupt on social media in a wave of support for the player.
Once a cheater always a cheater ig LOL pic.twitter.com/GWJugRinSe
— waffles (@WafflesFN) August 1, 2020
“Wait my inventory is disappearing,” Waffles said in the middle of a competitive match. An endless supply of Crash Pads rapidly replaced his entire loadout. No matter how many he placed on the ground, the item never seemed to run out. “What am I supposed to do… it just happened.”
Hours later a notification appeared on his screen to inform him of a disqualification. “Disqualified for something that I couldn’t control,” he responded. “Am I supposed to leave the game? That was my last game and I needed it to [qualify].”
This disqualification was then followed up with an outright account ban for 28 days. “Due to recent actions, you’ve been banned from competitive play for: Cheating,” the message read. Despite having no real say in the matter, Waffles was barred from the competition and can no longer play from his primary account.
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Disqualified for something that I couldn't control. Am I supposed to leave the game? That was my last game and I needed it to qual??? pic.twitter.com/1isZZBGrof
— waffles (@WafflesFN) August 1, 2020
A string of emails to Epic was then shared online, as support staff tried to explain the situation. “I understand that you had no control,” an employee responded. “But [this] behavior is detected by the ‘AntyCheat’ system that you accepted to add when you downloaded the game. We as a support team are not allowed to remove this type of ban.”
Despite tagging many of the lead devs, the support team was his only line of contact. The situation escalated as “Competitive & Anti-Cheat teams” manually reviewed the issue. The ban was upheld, however, even after the investigation.
“What a sh***y way to end my comp career, thanks for all the good memories,” Waffles said, seemingly done with the pro Fortnite scene. This issue sparked an outpouring of support from fellow pros, and #FreeWaffles even started trending in the United States on August 3.
The official FNCS Chapter 2 Season 3 rulebook states that “any technical issues or Bug encounters must be played through.” Even though Waffles did just that and played through the duplication bug, his account still remains banned.
Dexerto will update you with any developments regarding Waffles ban, and Epic Games’ stance on it, as more information becomes available.
