Former Pro Player ShahZaM Receives Death Threats

Shahzeeb ‘ShahZaM’ Khan, a well-known Valorant streamer and former pro player, has come under serious threat after speaking out against suspected gambling-related match manipulation in high-ELO ranked games.

What Happened?

ShahZaM claimed (and demonstrated) that betting on ranked Valorant matches has been a quiet but ongoing issue for years. He alleged that some individuals are purchasing high-level accounts just to intentionally throw matches tampering with results that are potentially tied to underground betting sites. According to him, repeated efforts to alert Riot Games have gone nowhere.

“We’ve been dealing with our ranked games on betting websites for a couple years now, telling Riot about it, and they’ve continued to not do anything about it until it gets to this point. People buy accounts and get into our games to throw for these bets,” ShahZaM said.

Threats Follow After Livestream Commentary

Things escalated after ShahZaM pointed out that one of his matches appeared to be targeted by bettors and discussed it while live on stream.

Shortly after, he began receiving alarming text messages that included threats and what appeared to be personal information.

One chilling message reportedly read:

“Hey there shahzam. If you do not start throwing this game I will open loans in your name. Your social is [redacted].”

Another went even further:

“If you do not listen to me and stop talking in your stream. There will be 4 men with AR-15s at your door. We are outside watching you.”

These messages, shared by ShahZaM on social media, appeared to be attempts to pressure and silence him.

It's currently unclear if he has contacted law enforcement or Riot Games' security teams regarding the threats.

Community Raises Concerns, Riot Yet to Respond

The situation has sparked fresh concern within the Valorant community. Many players have long suspected third-party gambling operations were interfering with ranked games, especially at higher levels.

While match-fixing, account boosting, and other integrity issues have been discussed publicly before, this incident puts a harsh spotlight on how deep the problem may go.

As of now, Riot Games has not released an official statement addressing the allegations or the threats ShahZaM received.