2XKO Competitive Integrity Called Into Question In Early Access Snafu

With the start of 2026, there has been growing excitement around the competitive future of Riot Games’ upcoming tag fighter, 2XKO, with the company’s newly revealed roadmap for the 2026 season drawing significant attention.

In their announcement, Riot outlined how the competitive series will operate, explaining that it will be closely tied to local tournament organizers. The circuit will feature five major events and fifteen Challenger events throughout the year.

The first of these majors will be Frosty Faustings, taking place this weekend. The event already boasts a $50,000 Top 24 pot bonus, alongside a $3,000 Duo Bounty, which will be awarded to the highest-placing duo across both the main and mixed tournaments.

However, the announcement has sparked debate around competitive integrity, following revelations that some professional players had early access to a new patch and unreleased characters—most notably the recently showcased Caitlyn. Riot confirmed that this access was granted as part of a limited playtesting initiative involving select pro players and full-time content creators, but some within the community view this as a potential competitive advantage.

One of the most widely circulated reactions came from pro player Ori, who tweeted:

“The competitive integrity of 2XKO is a joke. All these players shamelessly talking about how much they know about stuff behind the scenes and how much early access they have had to characters and stuff is genuinely unbelievable.”

The tweet sparked further discussion over what actually constitutes an advantage. Some argue that a few hours of early access is insufficient to meaningfully impact tournament results, while others believe that even limited exposure can create an uneven playing field.

Street Fighter professional Punk added to the debate, stating that although he does not compete in 2XKO, he believes players should never receive access to characters or patches prior to their public release.

In response, Ben Forbes, editor-in-chief of the Play2XKO account, released a statement clarifying Riot’s approach. According to Forbes, those invited to test the new patch and characters were limited to three to four hours of playtime—enough to gain a surface-level understanding, but not enough to develop deep matchup knowledge or optimized strategies.

Even so, concerns remain. While there may be little evidence of a tangible competitive advantage, the perception of one can be just as damaging to tournament integrity. As 2XKO continues to establish itself as a competitive title, how Riot manages early access for players and creators will be closely watched by the wider fighting game community.