In light of the new evidence provided on NeverOFZero, and his full admission of guilt, his 2025 title is cancelled. All matches involving him are voided, and considered as having never happened competitively.
This is a very regrettable situation, and I write these words with strong concern for the future of online competitive chess, given the multiplication of tools and strategies one can adopt to break the system.
However we will continue to do our best, and update the tournament with stronger security measures, once again. One of those tools could likely be the implementation of playing with double-angle webcams on and screen sharing, for the final matches or when strong suspicion arises. You will know more about that once the 2026 rules are published.
Now that this sorry situation is addressed, let's turn to the future. Congratulations to your true 2025 AWC champion, @Natso! It is probably not announced in the most pleasing circumstances, but it is just as official.
@Natso's claim on the title did not require any matches to be replayed, as he was clearly the better player this year. All other top finishers either lost to him, or to players who lost to him. In addition, @Natso is the first player since @Arka50 to win two AWCs in a row! Let's now see how he will manage to defend his title in 2026, against the many new challengers trying to fill the current power vacuum.
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