Riot Games’ Valorant Challengers Malaysia & Singapore announced Tuesday that it has issued a “provisional suspension” on Disguised player Wong “JAYH” Jia Heng for “suspicion of participating in match-fixing prior to joining Valorant Challengers 2024 Malaysia & Singapore.”
Riot said in a statement that the provisional suspension on JAYH will bar him from participating in all Riot Games Esports, including official and third-party tournaments, “effective immediately,” pending “further review and adjudication.”
The official statement:
Official Statement: Jayh from Disguised is receiving provisional suspension from VCT MYSG due to suspicion of match-fixing during the tournament. Fair play and integrity are paramount in our competitions. 📄 #VCTMYSG #VALORANTChallengers #MYSG #Valorant #VCT pic.twitter.com/hrryWPWjDX
— VALORANT Challengers Malaysia & Singapore (@valesports_mysg) April 30, 2024
JAYH joined Disguised in January from Ninjas In Pyjamas (NIP Group) where he played from August 2023 to January 2024. Prior to that, he played for Bleed Esports and Bearclaw Gaming, among others.
Shortly after that announcement, JAYH (who most recently took part in Challengers League 2024 Malaysia & Singapore: Split 1) responded publicly asking the VCL MYSG to contact him directly, noting that he has never engaged in any match-fixing, and that he was not informed or in contact with VCL MYSG prior to this ruling being issued publicly.
“These allegations will hurt my reputation severely, especially since no due diligence was done in even contacting me to investigate beforehand,” he added.
But sources familiar with the situation told The Esports Advocate on Tuesday morning that the investigation is likely related to something JAYH did (allegedly) while with NIP in 2023. Sources tell us that JAYH bet on a match that involved his team, a violation of the Global Esports Code of Conduct. While VCL MYSG may see this bet as match-fixing, sources tell TEA that JAYH actually bet on himself to win (and ultimately, his team lost).
JAYH added in a follow-up message that Riot finally reached out and that he stood by his previous statement that he does not match-fix and has never participated in “such activities.” He added that he will do his best to “comply with the investigations done by the team.”
While it might be a hard sell to call betting on yourself as match-fixing as defined in the rules, it is a violation of the guidelines on gambling. Section 3.15 of the Global Esports Code of Conduct states:
“Esports Professionals may not: (a) place, or attempt to place, a bet or wager directly or indirectly, on any competition, game, play, or component thereof in which such Esports Professionals participate; (b) engage in any legal or illegal gambling activities involving any video game title owned by Riot Games, instruct, permit, cause, or enable other individuals to do any of the forgoing; or (c) own any interest either directly or indirectly, in any corporation or other entity that promotes, brokers, arranges, or conducts betting, gambling, lotteries, or similar events or transactions on or in connection with esports competitions. “Gambling activity” is defined as placing anything of value (including real-world currency, cryptocurrency, or other digital assets) at risk in connection with a bet or wager. A gambling activity may take place at a casino, other physical retail location, or via the internet.”
Riot Games publicly introduced the Esports Global Code of Conduct in February, and noted that these guidelines for professional players would “come into effect starting January 1, 2024.” These new rules are nearly identical to the old guidance on gambling prohibitions for professional players and match-fixing rules related to all Riot Games global esports competitions. You can read the relevant sections on these topics here.
TEA reached out to Riot Games and JAYH prior to the publication of this story, but they did not respond to a request for comment, as of this writing. We will update this story as more information becomes available.