VALORANT pros penalised for Snus use in Champions circuit

There's much to be said about where the lines can be drawn when it comes to professional esports players trying to gain an advantage over their opponents.

Many cases of Adderall usage have been reported in the past, where players have used substances to speed up reaction times, and often faced repercussions given such drugs are banned in events.

But in one of the most bizarre situations, a VALORANT professional has been penalised for using a tobacco product named Snus.

Riot Games penalises VALORANT pro for Snus use at VCT Champions

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Riot Games has often enforced on players what cannot be permitted on-stage, and during the last campaign, players were banned from listening to music in headphones before games.

Even the broadcast team has felt Riot's rulebook wrath by not being allowed to zoom in on Agents' twerking regions.

But now NAVI has been the subject of a rather obscure ruling, as it was docked one timeout in their 2-1 series loss to DRX, with head coach Erik "d00mbr0s" Sandgren confirming that it was because one player was using Snus.

The product is widely used as a tobacco fix, replacing cigarettes, where you place it between your upper lip and gum. It is often used in sports such as football, as Premier League stars have been found to take it while sitting on the bench.

According to Riot's rulebook, "Tobacco and other nicotine products are prohibited in the Match Area," which is the reasoning behind NAVI's penalty.

VALORANT pros mock NAVI after Snus penalty

Although many Snus users have advocated the product in esports as a way of controlling emotions and calming their mental health (this was the case in League of Legends when an Evil Genius player opened up), NAVI and Riot have both been mocked by opposition players in the wake of this ruling.

"Snus being treated like it's a hard drug," said Giants Gaming in-game leader Emir "rhyme" Muminovic, in response to a now-deleted explanation from d00mbr0s.

"If you snus you get disqualified. Time to quit my addiction, FROM THIS DAY ONWARDS I WILL BE SNUS FREE," joked Saif "Sayf" Jibraeel of Team Liquid.

It's impossible to tell whether that second time out might have changed the tide of the DRX match, but given that the first map (on which the penalty was active) ended with DRX winning by two rounds (13-15), some extra minutes to compose themselves might have proved pivotal for NAVI to get over the line for the win.

NAVI now faces either Team Liquid or LOUD in a Deciders match to see who will advance to the Playoff stage.