Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Online Cheating? Or glitching?

[MegaMan52 | 2,450]

So I just finished playing a round of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Battle mode. The game chose Renegade Roundup/Dodge the Law. The battle took place on Sweet Sweet Kingdom, and I had to dodge the Law. As the game was counting down right before the battle started, I noticed something I hadn't seen before: a player with a Piranha Plant appeared right beside me and caught me as soon as the battle started. The "Cops" usually start on the opposite side of the course. My team won, but I wasn't expecting anyone to get me the second the battle started.

I have come across multiple players who are likely jealous of my skills and gang up on me, but haven't seen this happen before (and I've been playing the game for several years). Either this player was really desperate and cheated or a glitch occurred. What do you guys think?

Edited September 6, 2021 by MegaMan52

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

No idea as I've never play MK8D online, but knowing how most Nintendo games perform online I would bet it was lag. Was it someone from Japan in the lobby?

[MegaMan52 | 2,450]

37 minutes ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

No idea as I've never play MK8D online, but knowing how most Nintendo games perform online I would bet it was lag. Was it someone from Japan in the lobby?

Couldn't have been. I chose Regional. Also, I've noticed lag several times when i "hit" someone and it doesn't count. But this was an opponent suddenly appearing beside me during the countdown and then catching me the second the battle started, which I've never seen before until today.

Edited September 7, 2021 by MegaMan52

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

1 hour ago, MegaMan52 said:

Couldn't have been. I chose Regional. Also, I've noticed lag several times when i "hit" someone and it doesn't count. But this was an opponent suddenly appearing beside me during the countdown and then catching me the second the battle started, which I've never seen before until today.

Gotchya... only thing I can think of is if the timer on your screen was simply behind compared to another person who was ahead in connection. Again, not really sure how it works as I haven't played that particular game online. The Switch can be cracked, so it wouldn't be completely out of question for someone to be cheating with both the Switch and that game being out for a while now.