PUBG’s esports team has published a statement confirming that Dakota “Exko” MacLeod is to be banned from official competitive play for a period of one year, commencing December 7th 2018.
The news comes following an investigation into community concerns around MacLeod’s use of unauthorized programs in the early part of 2018.
After starting their enquiries, the organisers claim to have found conclusive evidence that MacLeod owned two PUBG accounts that had been banned for software misuse. That misuse was then admitted to by MacLeod when the investigative team made direct contact.
In a statement posted on Twitter late on Friday, the esports team stressed that no evidence had been found to suggest that MacLeod had cheated in the 2018 PGI Qualifiers, or during the 2018 PGI LAN events in Burbank and Berlin.
Competitive Ruling: Dakota “Exko” MacLeod pic.twitter.com/oEqM4RxC9i
PUBG Esports (@PUBGEsports) 7 December 2018
The ruling means, however, that McLeod will not be able to participate in official esports competitions until the end of 2019.
The investigators were keen to stress that similar – or worse – penalties will be applied to any other professional players who are found to have misused unauthorized software in the future.
Punishments will start at a minimum one year ban, commencing from the date of the conclusion of any investigation. This can, however, be increased to a lifetime ban if the investigators deem the behaviour serious enough.
