Breaking: EMIYA receives second cheating ban on FACEIT

Early this morning, Damian "EMIYA" Boulware, formerly known as droid, received a two-year ban on FACEIT for cheating. The ban comes less than a year after EMIYA was unbanned on the platform following a prior cheating ban that lasted from May 2021 to March 2023. At the time, EMIYA alleged that the ban was a false positive, appealing to FACEIT unsuccessfully to overturn the ban.

The sudden banning of EMIYA comes as the 23-year-old rifler is set to head to Monterrey, Mexico in short order for the PGL Major Copenhagen Americas RMR with Rocket. While Valve does not mirror platform bans from third-party tournament organizers, Valve does "reserve the right to disqualify any player, team, broadcaster, commentator, or producer in its sole discretion," something they could invoke in relation to this circumstance.

Beyond the Americas RMR, EMIYA's sudden ban would disqualify him from competing in the entirety of the ESL Pro Tour circuit, which includes ESL Challenger League, Intel Extreme Masters, and ESL Challenger events. This would likely mark the end of EMIYA's playing career until 2026, as it had done during his previous ban.

It is important to note however, that there is the possibility that this ban is a false positive, and has the potential to be overturned. Dust2.us has reached out to FACEIT and EMIYA for comment, with the article set to be updated should they respond to this developing story.