Kevin “GR4ND_THEFT” Ruscitti, the reigning Player of the Year for WSOP Online Michigan (previously WSOP.com), has faced a suspension from the site following allegations of real-time assistance (RTA), which he has vehemently denied in an interview with PokerNews.
This past weekend, Ruscitti secured his first bracelet by triumphing in the $500 No-Limit Hold’em PKO, defeating Cherish Andrews, the 2022 GPI Female Player of the Year. Shortly thereafter, he discovered that his account had been suspended after fellow Michigan poker players accused him of utilizing RTA.
Pokernews reached out to Ruscitti, Andrews, and other players who have suspected Ruscitti’s RTA usage for weeks and have reported submitting solver checks to WSOP, alleging they point to possible cheating.
RTA Allegations Arise
Ryan “MagicJohnson” Hiller, a Michigan player, first grew suspicious of Ruscitti a few months back when he reportedly boasted about employing RTA among peers. Hiller began using Fair Play Checks, a tool from GTOWizard designed to identify if solver outputs were consulted during real-time play, on Ruscitti’s gameplay. He quickly noticed outputs that matched the tournament hands Ruscitti had played on WSOP.
“Once I had my suspicions, I started observing his behavior during hands. He would act out of character, taking longer than usual and making plays that seemed unusual for him,” Hiller told PokerNews. “I started running Fair Play Checks, and he frequently failed when he deviated from his typical style.”
Evidence Compiled Against Ruscitti
Hiller shared his findings with other Michigan players, who began conducting their own Fair Play Checks on Ruscitti. Instead of confronting him directly, they quietly gathered evidence, believing that enough proof would lead WSOP to take action against his account, as explained by fellow player Mario Arribas, who shared some Fair Play Check screenshots on X.
“From what we’ve gathered, it seems likely that WSOP is heading toward a ban,” Arribas noted.
However, other players, including Matt Berkey, raised concerns that some of the shared screenshots did not consistently indicate positive results for RTA use and cautioned against using them to publicly accuse someone, emphasizing that Fair Play Checks can yield false positives.
Ruscitti Responds to Allegations
After learning that his WSOP account was suspended and under investigation, Ruscitti denied any wrongdoing. He described the situation as akin to childhood disputes over board games, where the losing party claims cheating. “It’s absurd,” he said. “Most Michigan players are struggling against Vegas since the merge, and now that I’ve found success, they want to label me as a cheater. I’m a player who makes bold moves, but I’m not a cheater.”
Ruscitti won the 2023 WSOP.com MI Player of the Year title with 46,100 points, surpassing competitors like “mkstr” (36,723 points) and “Mcleskey” (34,727 points). He confirmed the suspension of his WSOP account and mentioned he is in the process of providing documentation for reinstatement.
Concerns Over Fair Play
Cherish Andrews, who faced Ruscitti in the recent bracelet event, did not initially find his play suspicious. However, after hearing from Michigan players about the RTA accusations, she revisited some hands from their previous encounters and ran her own Fair Play Checks, which yielded no concerning results.
“I’m not claiming he’s cheating, but I want to urge WSOP to take these allegations seriously,” Andrews remarked. “It took someone winning a bracelet for them to pause his account and investigate, which is concerning. If regular players bring forth evidence, they should act on it immediately.”
If it turns out that players were cheated out of titles or prize money, Andrews believes that appropriate actions should be taken. “If he’s found guilty, any winnings should be confiscated and redistributed fairly. He shouldn’t retain the bracelet, and all affected players should move up in placement. Even a single instance of cheating in a tournament warrants disqualification.”
Source: https://www.pokernews.com/news/2024/10/kevin-ruscitti-wsop-suspension-47198.htm
This past weekend, Ruscitti secured his first bracelet by triumphing in the $500 No-Limit Hold’em PKO, defeating Cherish Andrews, the 2022 GPI Female Player of the Year. Shortly thereafter, he discovered that his account had been suspended after fellow Michigan poker players accused him of utilizing RTA.
Pokernews reached out to Ruscitti, Andrews, and other players who have suspected Ruscitti’s RTA usage for weeks and have reported submitting solver checks to WSOP, alleging they point to possible cheating.
RTA Allegations Arise
Ryan “MagicJohnson” Hiller, a Michigan player, first grew suspicious of Ruscitti a few months back when he reportedly boasted about employing RTA among peers. Hiller began using Fair Play Checks, a tool from GTOWizard designed to identify if solver outputs were consulted during real-time play, on Ruscitti’s gameplay. He quickly noticed outputs that matched the tournament hands Ruscitti had played on WSOP.
“Once I had my suspicions, I started observing his behavior during hands. He would act out of character, taking longer than usual and making plays that seemed unusual for him,” Hiller told PokerNews. “I started running Fair Play Checks, and he frequently failed when he deviated from his typical style.”
Evidence Compiled Against Ruscitti
Hiller shared his findings with other Michigan players, who began conducting their own Fair Play Checks on Ruscitti. Instead of confronting him directly, they quietly gathered evidence, believing that enough proof would lead WSOP to take action against his account, as explained by fellow player Mario Arribas, who shared some Fair Play Check screenshots on X.
“From what we’ve gathered, it seems likely that WSOP is heading toward a ban,” Arribas noted.
However, other players, including Matt Berkey, raised concerns that some of the shared screenshots did not consistently indicate positive results for RTA use and cautioned against using them to publicly accuse someone, emphasizing that Fair Play Checks can yield false positives.
Ruscitti Responds to Allegations
After learning that his WSOP account was suspended and under investigation, Ruscitti denied any wrongdoing. He described the situation as akin to childhood disputes over board games, where the losing party claims cheating. “It’s absurd,” he said. “Most Michigan players are struggling against Vegas since the merge, and now that I’ve found success, they want to label me as a cheater. I’m a player who makes bold moves, but I’m not a cheater.”
Ruscitti won the 2023 WSOP.com MI Player of the Year title with 46,100 points, surpassing competitors like “mkstr” (36,723 points) and “Mcleskey” (34,727 points). He confirmed the suspension of his WSOP account and mentioned he is in the process of providing documentation for reinstatement.
Concerns Over Fair Play
Cherish Andrews, who faced Ruscitti in the recent bracelet event, did not initially find his play suspicious. However, after hearing from Michigan players about the RTA accusations, she revisited some hands from their previous encounters and ran her own Fair Play Checks, which yielded no concerning results.
“I’m not claiming he’s cheating, but I want to urge WSOP to take these allegations seriously,” Andrews remarked. “It took someone winning a bracelet for them to pause his account and investigate, which is concerning. If regular players bring forth evidence, they should act on it immediately.”
If it turns out that players were cheated out of titles or prize money, Andrews believes that appropriate actions should be taken. “If he’s found guilty, any winnings should be confiscated and redistributed fairly. He shouldn’t retain the bracelet, and all affected players should move up in placement. Even a single instance of cheating in a tournament warrants disqualification.”
Source: https://www.pokernews.com/news/2024/10/kevin-ruscitti-wsop-suspension-47198.htm
