Professional Fortnite players, Damion “XXiF” Cook and Ronald “Ronaldo” Mach, booked a place in the duos tournament. This event came after they were banned for two weeks in April after being found guilty of cheating during the qualifiers for the Fortnite World Cup.
XXiF faced accusations of conspiring with other players who fed him easy kills. This assistance allowed him to score points and qualify alongside top Fortnite gamers such as Turner “Tfue” Tenney and Timothy “Bizzle” Miller.
Epic Games banned him for two weeks after investigating the allegations.
The players were able to return to compete in Week 6 and managed to qualify for the duos in Week 8.
The decision to ban the two players for only two weeks was controversial because many fans expected the organizers to ban them from the rest of the Fortnite World Cup.
XXiF and Ronaldo’s eventual qualification for the duos tournament of the $30 million 2019 Fortnite World Cup caused an uproar. Epic Games came under widespread criticism for allowing known cheaters to return and qualify for the duos tournament.
NOT!
You just let cheater into your biggest tournament. Can't wait for you to explain their story line to a young audience. Should BE REAL INTERESTING ???????— Vivid (@VividFN) June 2, 2019
A cheater qualifying for a $30,000,000 tournament is a kick in the junk to the integrity of the Fortnite competitive community. Love or hate the game, this should be unanimously agreed upon.
— DrLupo (@DrLupo) June 2, 2019
Lets go XXIF! Good stuff Epic games! Love a good redemption story! Remember kids, if you break the law or cheat just wait two weeks and you’ll get $50,000! ?
— Nate Hill (@NateHillTV) June 2, 2019
XXiF & Ronaldo have qualified for New York. Yikes. What a stain on what is to be the highest paying Esports event of all time.
— cbass (@FaZeCBass) June 2, 2019
And earlier this week, some fans alleged that they caught XXiF cheating again during the single-day trios tournament.
wasn't this the guy who cheated in world cup and got a 2 week band?
trio finals btw @FortniteGame pic.twitter.com/UG7ZyPOL4K— Saucy (@saucywtf) July 22, 2019
XXiF and Ronaldo received a noticeably cold reception when he participated in the duos tournament which opened today (Saturday, July 27).
Many fans did not think that former cheaters like XXiF should get a second chance, and some protested his presence. One attendee was reportedly seen wearing a t-shirt inscribed with “Lock XIFF up,” a misspelled reference to XXiF.
Other attendees appeared to share the protester’s feeling as they booed when XXiF and Ronaldo came on the main feed. Fans also cheered when XXiF was eventually eliminated.
LMAO XXiF and Ronaldo get booed when they're on screen and cheered when they die.#art #beautiful #fortnitebr #cute #fortnitemontage #followme #fortnitecosplay #fortniteaccount #fortniteseason9 #fortniteworldcup #fortniteaccounts #fortniteandroid #fortniteclan #fortnite pic.twitter.com/8MFE5VChHY
— The Mighty Number 9❤️?? (@Mighty_Number9) July 27, 2019
#FortniteWorldCup XXIF was booed like 4 different times lmfao not sure if you could tell from the livestream. pic.twitter.com/4p3IX9Syy1
— Potentium (@PotentiumRLX) July 27, 2019
THE CROWD CHEERED FOR XXIF DEATH SO HARD THEY HAD TO MUTE THE AUDIO ?? pic.twitter.com/ePhubD7uyp
— Kquid (@KquidFN) July 27, 2019
As great as it was to see xxif get booed and eliminated its still bittersweet knowing he profited from his actions. The #FortniteWorldCup duos tournament was amazing but we can't give cheaters a second chance
— Katie & Mikey (@KatieMikeygames) July 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/Audxble/status/1155225653744193536
However, some felt that fans were too hard on XXiF and Ronaldo. These people pointed out they’d already served their punishment for cheating.