High-ranking Korean teenage Overwatch player proves she isn't cheating with impressive live skill display

Blizzard Korea has cleared 17-year-old Korean player Gerguri, one of the top Overwatch players in the world, after competitors accused the talented teen of cheating her way to the top. Sporting a win rate of 80% in over 420 games played, Gerguri's impressive play skills as the pink-haired Overwatch tank, Zarya, and performance at the Nexus Cup caught the attention of rival players who reported her to the developer for alleged cheating.

In fact, two Korean Overwatch pro players - ELTA and Strobe from Dizziness - were so convinced that the teen was using some form of unfair advantage that they vowed to permanently quit the game if she was found innocent, according to Reddit user Calycae. The teen even received death threats over her abilities.

Blizzard, which has made its stance on cheating in its beloved FPS abundantly clear, launched an investigation into the issue. However, they cleared the cheating accusations and found that Gerguri was not cheating, but just that good.

To further prove her innocence and clear her name, Gerguri streamed her Overwatch gameplay in an hour-long live demonstration hosted by Korean site Inven. Gerguri, who was wearing a mask to protect her identity, broke down in tears by the end of the video, saying that the stress of the cheating scandal had got to the young gamer.

She also said on Twitter that she did not expect the wave of attention from both her peers and the media over her Zarya play, but does plan to broadcast her gameplay more often after she officially joins her Overwatch team, Polygon reports.

According to Calycae, the two pro players who threatened to leave the game have indeed left the competitive Overwatch scene.

Prior to the launch of Overwatch on 24 May, Blizzard promised to permanently ban cheaters in the game, even if it is their first offence. So far, the developer has dropped the ban hammer on thousands of Overwatch cheaters for using "hacks, bots, or third-party software that provides any sort of unfair advantage".

Although cheating is a common issue within the gaming industry, many developers have taken a more aggressive approach to dealing with cheaters in their games recently due to the rise of eSports as a competitive and lucrative multi-million dollar industry.

Earlier this month, Ubisoft also announced that it would crack down on first-time cheaters in its tactical FPS Rainbow Six Siege and post-apocalyptic third-person shooter The Division and issue permanent bans as well.

Overwatch is available now on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.