Some time ago, ShahZam took to social media to reveal threats he had received following his call-out of gambling that went on in matches involving him. This event was the subject of much debate about the dark side of esports gambling, with spectators and fellow players coming to ShahZam’s support.
The contest started when ShahZam pointed at certain persons endangering competitive integrity in betting on his matches and against the players. He then proceeded to share screenshots of some of the threatening messages he had received, which read, “We are outside watching you.”
The fans showed spontaneous support and concern. GamingVerse.fr wished for his safety and called it crazy. E-Man stated, “Yeah, this gambling scene is NO JOKE,” in order to stress the seriousness of the issue. However, Krimson Kaz chose to react with sarcasm: “Massive day for the unemployed,” to underline the ridiculous nature of being threatened.
But the conversation was not just sarcastic. Jaime Solis stated, “Exposing threats is brave! Gambling in esports is getting out of hand,” with Serophicx joining in agreeing, “Crazy how truth gets hate. Respect to ShahZam.”
The threatening messages ranged from vague intimidation to outright hostility. PhillyRed came through, stating that ShahZam “should air their number out,” suggesting publicly revealing the numbers of the harassers; MercifulAce then questioned whether those gamblers were “part of some underground mafia,” intensifying the shade of the backlash.
This is not the first but a very minor gambling-related incident in esports. The offences committed with skin betting, the match-fixing scandals, and the third-party betting sites have been haunting competitive gaming for years; now the spotlight gets on the extreme danger they generate when players speak out.”
Nonetheless, ShahZam appears to be holding up in spite of all those threats. Whether he is enjoying the situation or is seriously scared is yet to be confirmed: kirillko19.eth even entertained the possibility of him laughing or being genuinely frightened. At any rate, the Valorant community had his back.
Perhaps it’s too early to say if Riot or the tournament organizers will ever step in and fix this. But one thing is certain: this incident again brought the esports gambling debate under the limelight, presenting a new angle concerning whether enough is being done to protect its players.
For now, and the fans pray he lives. If those gamblers had been thinking their threats could silence ShahZam, then they would have massively underestimated how much the ShahZam’s community uphold honesty and how little they tolerate intimidation.
So yeah, they are brewing a storm in a teacup. If anything, this drama proves that when pros move for a cause, the esports world lends an ear. And that is the LAST thing many want.
