Backlash as cheating accusations against all-women ALGS Challenger finalists debunked

After making history as the first all-women Apex Legends team to reach an ALGS Challenger Circuit Final, team Insomnia was accused of wall-hacking by a user on X (formerly Twitter) user named Adayumz, who cited a private source.

The evidence has today been dismantled, with Adayumz and their “sources” coming under fire for the suggestion julieantic, Selenaa2k, and Envy had cheated in their victorious Apex matches.

The user in question, Adayumz, is known for exposing Apex cheaters, with the cheater-hunter’s most famous case being a cheater’s Discord channel he outed in December 2023. Although most in the Apex fandom were glad to be rid of the underground community he exposed, reactions to his Insomnia accusations have been far more condemnatory.

Apex fans nearly immediately questioned the proposed cheating evidence when it was first shared online, with some identifying that vital context had been omitted. The clip Adayumz suggested contained cheating evidence was taken during a fight, with the main claims being the Insomnia team knew a Bangalore player was hidden behind a rock.

However, when the unclipped video was shared, it quickly became evident that the Insomnia players were swinging around to view the position where the Bangalore player had last been spotted. The player was still in that area, so they were able to aim and shoot quickly.

This, many Apex fans soon said, was just good game sense; the ability to intuitively understand mechanics and strategy with high levels of situational awareness.

The backlash took aim at one particular claim from Adayumz, who had suggested “multiple t1 [tier one] players and t1 coaches” had also agreed there was cheating in play. Adayumz did not clarify who these tier-one figures were or what they had said to confirm his allegations, and many high-tier Apex figures have since defended Insomnia. Alex “coldjyn” Nicholls and LGND coach Nihil, Oxygen analyst SomeoneWhoLeaks, Sentinels pro Rkn and Moist Esprots pro Wxltzy have all since pointed out the unsupported nature of Adayumz’s claims.

Outside the ALGS Challenger Circuit, Insomnia also competes in women-only Apex series. The women who play alongside them were quick to leap to their defence, with Luminosity Gaming’s Gabs reminding others she has seen “envy” (who bore the brunt of accusations) “grind hours to get to where she is.”

The final nail in Adayumz’s claims coffin came from Conor Ford, the face of Apex‘s anti-cheat software, a.k.a. RSPN_Hideouts. Under the accusing clip, the Respawn dev wrote: “You are wrong and the way you went about this is wrong. None of this is blatant, especially with edited clips. Do better and uplift each other rather than whatever this is.”

Many have also pointed out an all-female Apex squad has been subject to a claim of cheating after making history as the first women-only team to reach the Challenger Finals, indicating some may be intentionally attempting to disparage their stunning achievement. Following some Apex fans suggesting as much under Adayumz’s posts, the cheat-hunter reposted a tweet from elsewhere on X that states, “So I don’t really watch women’s MMA, but if I do, I always root for the ugly one. Life is hard for an ugly woman.”

While community consensus favors Insomnia, Adayumz has kept the original post live and continues to mock or retaliate against those debunking the clip. However, most fans seem to agree with Julieantics: Envy appears to be owed an apology.