Olivia Richman 
Whether it’s Overwatch or Grand Theft Auto Online, pro gamer turned streamer Felix “xQc” Lengyel is no stranger to causing controversy and the latest example is his ban from Valorant.
xQc was an early adopter of Riot Games’ hero shooter Valorant. That’s not particularly surprising, as he first rose to prominence in the Overwatch League, playing for the Dallas Fuel as a tank. What was surprising was how suddenly he dropped the game.
Though he grinded Valorant for two years after its release, xQc just stopped playing on stream in the middle of 2022. In a recent stream, the Juicer admitted that he was banned from Valorant and gave a reason why.
Why was xQc banned from Valorant?
xQc says he was banned from Valorant for using ableist slurs in-game.
On July 17, xQc talked with his chat about the time he was banned from Valorant. During the stream, he said it was due to his use of the “R-word” while trash-talking another player in a match.
xQc stated that a player with a lisp had started talking trash to xQc during a game. This got the streamer heated and he replied: “I would rather that than sound like a f—–g r—–.”
While remembering the moment, xQc let out a laugh. It’s unclear if he has any remorse for letting that word slip on-stream. Riot lifted the ban later on and xQc played a short stint of Valorant in early 2023, but hasn’t been on the game for more than a year and a half. Since then, he hasn’t endeared himself to Riot Games as he has famously taken digs at League of Legends and Valorant, famously saying they’re not as good as Dota 2 or Counter-Strike.
Three years ago, xQc was playing Among Us on stream when he explained why he no longer wants to use the “R-word.” When he was playing for the Overwatch League, xQc explained that a “mentally challenged” fan had asked for a signature while wearing his Dallas Fuel jersey.
“I felt bad that he was watching my stream all the time and get rolled by that all the time,” xQc said.
After the thoughtful sentiment, xQc did add that all other words were fine, however. Fans pointed out years later that xQc has definitely used the “R-word” since this statement, however. This includes while playing Valorant.
xQc’s long history of in-game toxicity
This is not the first time that xQc was punished in a game for using insensitive languages or slurs. xQc was infamously banned from the Overwatch League when he made a comment about another player’s sexuality on stream. This got him suspended at the time and he filmed an apology.
On his own channel, xQc claimed that Blizzard and the Dallas Fuel had not asked him to make an apology.
“Obviously this was super deserved and what I did was not okay. Nothing will excuse my behavior,” xQc said six years ago.
According to the former OWL pro, he was streaming after a day of scrims and started throwing games because he was frustrated with bad matches and teammates. The viral clip had xQc calling out an openly gay player, Kim “Rascal” Dong-jun.
“Shut your f—–g mouth. Go back there. Suck a fat c—. I mean, you would like it,” xQc said.
xQc said that it was not the “right time” to make a joke like that but admitted it’s something he’d privately say with friends all the time. He knew he’d get in trouble but figured it wouldn’t “be that bad.” In this case, however, it was “worse” than what he expected would happen.
Since then, there’s been plenty of toxic moments involving xQc and other content creators as he continues to share harsh opinions and views while streaming on Kick and Twitch.
