The esports community is buzzing with controversy surrounding the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series (BGIS) 2023.

Several teams have faced challenges during the online qualification rounds, with allegations of hacking, cheating and other mischief. Over 150 teams have been disqualified thus far, and more are potentially on the way.

Cheats & Hackers Galore at BGIS 2023

Hackers have long been a concern in Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). Krafton recently took action against multiple teams for violating the competition’s rules. Many teams were quickly dealt with, but there is plenty of questions about the overall competitive integrity at the event and potentially un-caught teams making it into the finals.

Among the teams in the spotlight were Night Owls, an emerging squad that showed impressive performance on Day 1 of BGIS 2023 Round 4. However, their success was soon overshadowed by accusations.

YouTuber Snehil “Snehilop” Saxena, who has previously exposed teams for unfair practices in BGIS 2023, shared clips that raised suspicions about Night Owls’ gameplay. The footage, from a match on the Sanhok map, highlighted Cleo from Night Owls, who achieved 12 solo finishes. Accusations suggest Cleo used Extra Sensory Perception (ESP), a form of wall hack.

Adding to the controversy, NightOwl Esports accused Night Owls of identity theft. The former claims that the latter used its team name and logo without permission. NightOwl Esports clarified that they have no association with the team competing in BGIS 2023 Round 4 and warned of legal action.

Credit: Night Owls Esports

In defense, Night Owls stated that their team name was chosen manually and the logo was sourced from the internet. They also mentioned ongoing discussions with Krafton to address the issue and have since updated their logo.

The question of hacking and rule breaking is still hot. The BGMI India Instagram page is regularly posting lists upon lists of disqualified teams from the event.

As the esports community awaits the main event, there is plenty of issues Krafton needs to address to have a decent running event. I really hope we get a clean event by the end of it all.

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