title: "ENVY parts ways with Canezerra after Riot hands VALORANT prospect a 1-year" hardware ban excerpt: "ENVY has released Canezerra after Riot issued a 12-month hardware ban for" behavioral misconduct, ending his place on the roster immediately. category: esports date: '2026-04-17T12:01:23+08:00' author: Aimirul tags:
- valorant
- envy
- riot-games
- vct-americas
- esports featured: false coverImage: /images/esports/envy-parts-ways-with-canezerra-after-riot-hands-valorant-prospect-a-1-year-hardware-ban.jpg
ENVY has officially cut ties with Alex "canezerra" Banyasz after Riot Games issued the young VALORANT player a 12-month hardware ban for behavioral misconduct.
The announcement landed on April 16, with ENVY saying Riot had informed the organisation of multiple Terms of Service violations tied to Canezerra's behaviour while playing Riot games. The team also made it clear this was not a cheating case, but the punishment was still serious enough to end his place on the roster immediately.
According to ENVY, Riot's ruling blocks Canezerra from playing, competing, streaming, or taking part in promotional activity across all Riot titles. With those restrictions in place, the org said there was no realistic way for him to remain under contract.
That is a brutal hit for both player and team, especially because this happened not long after ENVY's return to top-level VALORANT. The organisation had only recently worked its way back into the conversation, and Canezerra was one of the names many fans were watching closely.
For anyone wondering, a hardware ban, also called an HWID ban, is one of Riot's harshest penalties. Unlike a normal account suspension, this does not just lock one profile. It targets the device itself, making it much harder to simply create a new account and continue as usual. Riot typically reserves that kind of punishment for major violations, including cheating or repeated extreme toxicity.
In this case, Riot's action covers a full year. That means Canezerra cannot queue up Riot games normally, cannot appear in official competition, cannot stream Riot titles, and cannot join promotional work connected to the publisher during the ban period.
Canezerra has since owned up to his behaviour publicly. In a post on X, he said he made a serious mistake, regretted what he said, and apologised to ENVY, Riot, and his supporters. He also described the punishment as a wake-up call, adding that he wants to use the suspension period to grow and come back as a better example.
That is the part SEA players should pay attention to. Even though this case comes out of the Americas scene, the message applies everywhere, including Malaysia and the wider region. VALORANT ranked can get toxic fast, especially in high-pressure lobbies where everyone thinks they're one good run away from going pro. But Riot has shown again that behaviour off the scoreboard still matters. If you are grinding ranked, building a stream, or trying to get noticed by an org, being cracked at the game is not enough if your conduct becomes a liability.
For Malaysian and Southeast Asian fans, this is also a reminder of how thin the line is between "rising talent" and "career setback." We have seen plenty of young players across esports get hyped early, but reputation now matters almost as much as mechanics. Teams do not just sign aim demons anymore, they sign people who can represent the badge on stream, on stage, and in public.
Canezerra's rise had been moving fast. He joined RANKERS in 2024 and played alongside names like Inspire, P0PPIN, ion2x, and Eggsterr. That lineup was later picked up by ENVY in March 2025 when the org returned to competitive VALORANT after nearly four years away. The squad then won Ascension Americas 2025, securing a place in VCT Americas 2026.
Canezerra, who turns 18 on June 4, had been listed as a substitute and was expected to become eligible for the 2026 VCT Americas Stage 1. Instead, his momentum has been stopped cold for the next 12 months.
For a player this young, it is a massive lesson, and for the rest of the scene, it's a warning too.
Source: Dot Esports
