The Gamer That Never Was: Inside the Cheating Scandal Shaking Esports
The story of Tokyogurl, picked for the Thai national team despite never having played in front of other people, continues to spiral despite being very easy to avoid.
On December 15, 2025, officials at the Southeast Asian games in Bangkok noticed something off during a women’s Arena of Valor match. The hands of Thailand’s Tokyogurl were not moving where they should be. Her fingers didn’t match the actions on screen.
When referees paused the match to investigate, they found that Tokyogurl, or Warasin Naraphat to use her real name, had Discord open and screen-sharing enabled on her mobile phone. Her boyfriend, another Thai esports pro known as Cheerio, was playing the match for her.
She was disqualified, her contract terminated and received a lifetime ban from the Thailand Esports Federation (TESF).
But Tokyogurl’s way of cheating was not particularly memorable. Ringing, or using a stand-in player, is a well-documented esports cheating technique.
Instead, it was the scale of the deception: she had built an entire professional career, complete with tournament winnings, a contract with a major team, and selection to her country’s national side, all without ever playing a competitive match in person.
How did every gatekeeper, whether they be coaches, teammates, the national federation, miss or ignore every warning sign?
