World's best Modern Warfare 2 ranked player receives shadowban

Receiving a shadowban in Modern Warfare 2 is hugely frustrating for innocent players dropping into the action. Despite Activision’s anti-cheat system trying to target those gaining an unfair advantage, it often impacts high-skilled players towards the top of the leaderboards.

With Season Two Reloaded well underway, ranked play continues to prove a hit for members of the community looking to climb the competitive ladder towards the top 250. Sitting at the top of the ladder is an aspiring CDL pro who currently competes for Saudi Arabian esports organisation Team Falcons.

Rather than receiving plaudits for reaching the top of the ranked play ladder, the player has received a shock shadowban much to their surprise.

Is the top ranked play player cheating?

Known as ‘Exnid_’, the player often broadcasts his gameplay on Twitch and after proving there are no cheats present, he’s left unable to jump into Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer or Warzone 2.

The above screenshot states the shadowban isn’t open for any kind of appeal and with no timetable as to when Exnid can return to action, the player is left in limbo until Activision reaches a decision.

Following the ban, several members of the community came to their defence. “Getting shadowbanned for no apparent reason because other players decided to report him while he’s streaming is unfair,” comments one fan.

• Check out: Best Modern Warfare 2 SMG (Season Two)

Typically, a response for an accidental shadowban lasts anywhere between three days and two weeks so it might be a while for Exnid to find out whether Activision applies a more severe punishment which could bring an end to his time at the top.

Hopefully, the issue is resolved sooner rather than later and Activision reconsiders how it handles wrongful reporting to prevent accidental shadowbans from occurring in the future.

For more Modern Warfare 2, check out our guides showcasing the best Vaznev 9K loadout and the best ranked play loadouts perfect for competitive play.