Valorant TO Knights fire employee for allegedly stealing registration fees

North American Valorant Challengers League Tournament Organizer Knights Arena has released a statement announcing the firing of an employee after an investigation into allegedly stolen registration fees.

A former Knights Arena Valorant tournament participant called out an employee of the tournament organizer, events manager Jasper ‘sfX’ Ko, on September 21, alleging that he was owed around $200. sfX announced he was stepping down from Knights a day later.

The situation has since snowballed from the initial post as Knights started an investigation into the incident on September 23.

“We’re aware of the issues that have been raised regarding a former employee’s malfeasance in our tournament registrations,” the company said on social media at the time.

Knights released a statement on October 2 saying the company had fired “the employee.”

“The person in question directed event participants to their own personal payment portal and led the participants to believe they were paying for events using a Knights Arena-authorized method, while in actuality, they were diverting funds from Knights Arena,” the statement said.

Valorant TO Knights Arena fire staff member over stolen registration fees

In the statement, Knights Arena said that “the employee in question used clandestine and manipulative tactics” to hide that he allegedly stole tournament entrance fees. The company said that they were aware of the employee’s past “issues” and decided to give him a second chance, but were taken advantage of.

Knights said they are in contact with the Americas Valorant Players Union to “document these indiscretions,” and are also in touch with people who need to be refunded their registration fees. The company also called for anyone who may have paid the former employee a registration fee to get in contact for a refund.

The company said it also reported the incident to “local authorities” that will also investigate and potentially “prosecute the individual in question.”

Riot Games partnered with Knights to run the North American Challengers League and Game Changers events back in November 2022. Before entering into that partnership, Knights held weekly and monthly tournaments in Valorant as well as fielding a competitive roster.

Knights are an esports company based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is part-owned by its local NFL franchise. The organization fields a competitive roster in Rainbox Six: Siege, among other esports, and runs LAN esports events out of Pittsburgh.