isaiah 44:27

River: An Investigation into S3 Grand Finals

[u][b]The Foreword:[/u][/b] One of the worst-kept secrets of the past several hours is the re-surfacing of several potentially incriminating clips of River from the S3 Grand Finals. I was not involved in the original creation of, or revival of these clips, but tasked by certain individuals to put together this post. I can only assume this is due to my notoriety (phrased as “good reputation”), flair for the dramatic, and willingness to put together many letters and words resembling English that revolve around Team Fortress 2. Let’s proceed.
[u][b]The Accusation:[/b][/u] River (Pyro for Apolodosh) used a spy script in the Season 3 Grand Finals, specifically on Ashville, the 2nd map. Note that this was [b]only[/b] used in this half: investigation of matches before and after this point did not bear fruit.
[u][b]The Context:[/b][/u] Let it be said that one person, cheating in one half of a match, using audio hacks is not the easiest target to catch. It’s very possible to write these off as luck, coincidence, and witch-hunting. That in mind, this was likely the final map of the season (AD had lost the first map and were heavy underdogs), and [b]likely River’s career[/b], as it came to light shortly after GFs [url=https://i.imgur.com/UBtUD0q.png] that River was planning on quitting.[/url] He’s currently playing for AD, but this is only after much convincing on their part over the off season. It’s easy to see motive considering these were the last rounds of competitive TF2 he had planned on playing, and worst-case scenario for him (getting caught) wouldn’t matter if he had quit.
[u][b]The First Attempt:[/u][/b] Here’s where things get messy. Immediately after the S3 GFs (which were played on 8/12), Dimento noticed something was wrong and went searching through the STV to confirm or deny his suspicions. Thinking he was onto something, he uploaded an unlisted series of video detailing [url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVKslryBFlTx5vLH81GQppoUXXKeL_0Z6]6 moments he found to be suspicious. [/url] These videos are included here for your viewing pleasure. Note that all of them were uploaded in the days following GFs, sans “river_return,” which was made today at my request and is a split-screen version of “river5.” Dimento, wanting to follow proper procedures, privately raised his concerns to the admin team, of which he was a member at the time. Other head admins (notably, Exa, head admin and [b]River’s teammate[/b]) were involved in a meeting that was self-described by Dimento as [url=https://i.imgur.com/0xfiayg.png]largely[/url] (1) [url=https://i.imgur.com/Kj0vEVV.png]unproductive.[/url](2) Dimento was told to [url=https://i.imgur.com/Q1ppKD4.png] “find more evidence in scrims and matches”[/url], something inherently difficult if the case is being made that cheats were used in only one half. Important to note here: I was not provided any screencaps/logs/chats from this initial encounter: it’s all Dimento’s account. I don’t see any reason for him to lie regarding this, but it’s important nonetheless. Following these initial fruitless discussions, Dimento allowed the discussion to die out and instead voiced his displeasure with RGL’s process by stepping down as an admin.

[u][b]The Present:[/u][/b] In light of the recent dK Karl ban (an entirely separate matter with its own issues), Dimento once against felt displeasure towards RGL’s process and re-opened the case. Outside opinions were brought in, including top players (across a variety of teams and histories), many of whom have familiarity with spies (myself included, or at least my back), with opinions largely believing the clips to be at best suspicious, and at worst damning.  Only one of those asked felt the clips were not suspicious (of 12 asked), names of which I’ll keep private with the exception of Comanglia (who believed the use of cheats “seems very likely”), as I believe his opinion carries more weight than the others listed. All players are or were in mid to high invite or plat. Again, must be noted: this is anecdotal evidence. To my knowledge none of these players are trained in Anti-Cheat (sans Comanglia) and cannot be taken as authorities. Worth noting, though, is that all spy players asked were at the least very suspicious, and it was spy main intuition that brought up the initial case against the spy scripters on Roadkill (with a number of those involved in that case involved here). Thousands of hours on a class gives you a fairly good idea of the limits of human sound detection and reaction time.
[u][b]The Elephant:[/u][/b] As previously mentioned, [b]Exa and River were, and are, teammates.[/b] This creates an obvious conflict of interest, only further quagmired by the addition of AD member wall(erino) to the admin staff. This is to say nothing against either individual, merely that they cannot be expected to make a rational and impartial decision about matters regarding your own affairs. I am unfamiliar with RGL’s internal structure (especially in regard to anti-cheat), so this conflict may be either nothing of concern or a major roadblock. Once again, I am only bringing up the information as it was brought to me.
[u][b]The Evidence:[/u][/b] [i]What follows is a personal account.[/i] After being sent the playlist, I watched the first two clips (6 and 4) and wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking for. After watching 5, though, it became clear: [b]River was rotating in Dimento’s direction almost instantly as he started to decloak.[/b] All of the clips provided were in a range of what I would consider “difficult to perceive”, either through distance or through walls. The timing on all of his checks are immaculate, especially considering that many scenarios are already pushing the boundary of what would be audible by a player, alone in a server (see 5, debatably 4). My initial suspect was that he was actually aimlocking onto Dimento as he decloaked, with 5 acting as my primary evidence. Upon further research into the STV, however (linked at the bottom), he was simply turning rapidly towards Dimento’s general location. I’d be remiss to not bring up 1) the spy decloak sound effect doesn’t peak in sound until closer towards the middle (starting out low) and 2) AD has notoriously loud comms. If you’ve ever played CS with me, you know that I bring up the c-word at the drop of a hat after one weird flick. That being said, River’s flicks to Dimento’s location strike me as far too quick and accurate for a player in a server with 17 other players, 8 of which he is in (loud) comms with. River2 is, to me, damning in this regard: he is [b]actively in the middle of denying an uberon the enemy ramp[/b] and then immediately flicks to Dimento decloak…  at his own barrels.  This pushes the limit of what could be heard in game, with an [i]active ubercharge[/i] happening in his face and likely an entire team’s worth of comms in it. Very rarely does he chase after any of these flicks: Dimento starts to decloak, River flicks (as if to check if he’s right behind him/in imminent danger of getting a stab) and realizing he isn’t, continues to play “as normal” with the exception of 2. I’m hesitant to read too far into these at the risk of developing confirmation bias, but the combination of 2 and 5 strikes me (and many of the spies asked about their thoughts) as unnatural. In my eyes, it’s the instant flick that’s concerning: upon hearing the decloak, before Dimento is even starting to shimmer back into visibility, River is already turning. Once again, 2 and 5 present situations with very strange and otherwise inexplicable actions that lead me to believe River’s gameplay here is not legitimate. This is an opinion, and there are arguments for this being coincidence, skill, or simply good audio equipment.
I’ll end this by noting that I did not comb the entire STV, only looking at the already-highlighted clips to confirm River’s own PoV. Anyone interested in pursuing this matter further would be advised to look over the STV to create a broader range of accessible knowledge regarding River and Dimento’s interactions, beyond the scope of those provided.

[b][u]The Reason:[/b][/u] I’ll wrap up the AltoEssay™ by going into the reasons behind this post. I have no doubt that those who asked me to post this are certain enough in this evidence that community support will be drummed up to spur the admins to action, but this is not necessarily my intent. With regard to the conflict of interest amongst the admins and the lack of a definitive stance taken on this, it is something that I (and those involved) believe cannot be kept under wraps anymore and should be brought forth to the people of Teufort so that this issue is common knowledge. RGL has shown varying levels of transparency in the past, and a potential issue of cheating in the Grand Finals (even if on the losing team) should be taken seriously. I do not know and am not qualified to charge Exa or any others with corruption/administrative negligence/whatever may have you, but I would be lying if the thought did not cross my mind. It may be presumptuous to say so, but I feel this case may be somewhat a watershed moment for RGL, and should this be mishandled, it could lead to bad things in the future. RGL was founded as an escape from the (varying from incompetent to corrupt) adminship of UGC, and this incident is recalling concerning memories. Others involved in this matter have some degree of varying opinions and bits of information they would like to share, but at the risk of misrepresenting them I will allow them to personally Speak for Themselves.

With this post, I wish to re-state that I do not have intentions of starting witch-hunts against River, Exa, or any other players mentioned in the body of this message; merely to bring up an issue I believe deserves public recognition and my reasons and concerns for that. Thank you for reading.
Link to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVKslryBFlTx5vLH81GQppoUXXKeL_0Z6
Link to the STV: https://demos.tf/295411#76561198004630011