Four professional PUBG players have been banned from participating in any of the game’s eSports event for three years after they were caught cheating.

On December 19, 2018, that Christian “Cuhris” Narvaez, Tyler “DevowR” Sti, Mark “Tefl0n” Formaro, Liam “Liammm” Tran received permanent in-game bans for the use of unauthorized software. A subsequent investigation performed by the eSports division of PUBG confirmed that the four had indeed used third-party programs to qualify for the National PUBG League (NPL) preseason early last month. As a result, they are forbidden from participating in any PUBG competitive tournament or event from December 31, 2018, to the end of 2021.

Banned Pubg Esports Cheaters Npl National Pubg Lea

In addition, the teams that these four players came from — namely Reapers, Death Row, Totality, and Almost — have also been disqualified from the NPL, even though it is unclear whether they were aware of their players’ violations. They will be replaced the next four highest-ranked teams in the NPL qualifiers. The names of these teams have yet to be announced. This sentence might seem harsh, but it stands as a warning for others against using cheats in the future. It also urges teams to closer supervise their players.

In a statement on Twitter, the PUBG eSports team warns that future players who receive in-game bans as a result of using unauthorized software also stand to face a suspension from any competitive play. This suspension starts upon the completion of an official investigation and can last anywhere from three years to a lifetime depending on the severity of the violation.

The team also adds that there will be a global penalty system coming later to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

The NPL preseason is still currently taking place and will be finished on January 13. The top 16 teams will get the chance to participate in the 1st official phase of the NPL, which is scheduled to start sometime between late January and early March this year and will last for 5 weeks.