On Sunday, two skilled gamers found themselves at the center of a startling event during a live-streamed match, leading to the postponement of the highly anticipated tournament.
The players were competing in the Apex Legends Global Series, a fiercely competitive esports event for the famously popular shooter game Apex Legends, which boasts a whopping $5 million in total prize money.
During two separate games, both players were suddenly bestowed with unfair advantages, catching the attention of viewers and organizers alike.
“Wait, what the fuck? I’m getting hacked, I’m getting hacked bro, I’m getting hacked,” exclaimed Genburten, visibly perplexed and frustrated, as shown in a video they shared on X. The same video was also uploaded on numerous YouTube channels.
Upon closer observation, it becomes evident that Genburten begins suspiciously highlighting other players on the map, even those hidden behind obstacles. This blatantly unfair tactic, known as “wallhack,” is a form of cheating that allows hackers to see and target their opponents through in-game barriers.
Not only that, but a mysterious window suddenly appears on screen, displaying what appears to be a cheat menu labeled “TSM HALAL HOOK.”
In the other game, a similar occurrence takes place as another Apex Legends pro player, ImperialHal, also shares a clip on their X account.
“I’m cheating, I’m cheating, I’m cheating, I’m fucking cheating,” shouts ImperialHal in disbelief. “I got aimbot!” they repeat, referring to a common cheating technique that grants players the ability to automatically aim at enemies without actually aiming. “What if I just don’t shoot? What if I just don’t shoot?”
As the news of these hacks spreads, the tournament organizers make the decision to temporarily suspend and postpone the event.
“Due to the integrity of our competition being compromised, we have decided to postpone the [North America] finals until further notice. More updates will follow,” stated the official Apex Legends Esports account on X.
The exact circumstances of these hacks are still unclear. Electronic Arts, the publishers of Apex Legends, have yet to respond to inquiries from TechCrunch. Genburten and ImperialHal have also not provided any statements regarding the incident.
On Monday, the creators of the anti-cheat system used for Apex Legends and other popular games, Easy Anti-Cheat, addressed speculations that a remote code execution (RCE) bug could have been responsible for the hacks. An RCE is a serious security vulnerability that allows hackers to remotely run malicious code on a targeted device.
“After carefully investigating recent reports of a potential RCE issue with Easy Anti-Cheat, we can assure you that there are no vulnerabilities being exploited. We will continue to collaborate with our partners and offer any necessary support,” the official Easy Anti-Cheat account confirmed on X.
