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Some players have been permanently banned from participating in Dota 2 tournaments organized by PGL on behalf of Valve due to their involvement in cheating and rule violations during the Open Qualifiers for the Dota Pro Circuit 2023: Tour 1.
The 2023 DPC season has started with open qualifiers, now that Dota 2 rosters are set. Both new players and experienced ones have been competing to advance to the Closed Qualifiers.
However, some individuals attempted to cheat the system from the start.
This morning, Valve penalized 10 players for account sharing, one of whom was a member of the Virtus Pro team.
These players engaged in both account sharing and impersonating members of other teams during tournament games, behaviours that are strictly forbidden in Valve tournaments.
The announcement of the ban emanated from the official Twitter account of PGL, with the organiser stating that a list of players had been banned from participating in both current and future Valve events. The bans are effective immediately.
As a result of account sharing and impersonating members of other teams during tournament games, the following players are permanently banned by Valve:
Paradise’
Keintseru
SuperNova
Illusion
Lilskrip
Koma`
Chambl
Limtless
[T]SA
deihraPGL will also ban these players.
— PGL (@pglesports) December 18, 2022
Some notable names that have invariably put an end to their careers in Dota 2 include Kamil “Koma`” Biktimirov of Virtus Pro, Viktor “SuperNova” Galichkin of HYDRA, Danil “illusion” Grzhevka of Ancient Tribe, Sergey “TSA” Timchenko formerly of B8 and Team Empire, and Aslan “Paradise” Vadilov of Felt in North America.
Virtus.pro took to their official Twitter page to react to the news, stating that they were aware of the situation and are looking into it. They said that after their investigation, more details will be shared with their fans and the general public.
“We are aware of the situation regarding one of our players,” the franchise said.
“As of now, we are conducting an internal investigation to understand more about the circumstances that led to this ban. We’ll share more details with you as soon as possible.”
We are aware of the situation regarding one of our players.
As of now, we are conducting an internal investigation to understand more about the circumstances that led to this ban. We’ll share more details with you as soon as possible.— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) December 18, 2022
Over the past year, the Russian esports organization has faced controversy surrounding their carry players, including an incident in which Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko displayed pro-war symbols during an official DPC game. This led to the organization being disqualified from a regional qualifier.
The recently recruited Chief Executive Officer of Virtus.pro, Nikolai Petrossian commented on the development. He approved of the sanctions dealt to the offenders.
“Despite the fact that Koma’ had made that fatal mistake before joining @virtuspro, the club strongly condemns any manipulations in professional esports, which undermine public trust to the esports industry,” Petrossian said.
“Hope these tough sanctions will teach a lesson to everyone.”
Aside from the players listed being banned from participating in future Valve tournaments, they are also prohibited from partaking in all PGL events, and events by both organizations make up almost 95% of Dota 2’s competitive scene.
If they choose to continue playing competitive Dota 2, they will only be able to participate in small tournaments that are not affiliated with Valve or PGL.
Some of the players were found guilty of account sharing and impersonating other players, which indicates that they were attempting to assist teams in advancing through the Open Qualifiers by secretly playing on their behalf.
Others were lending out their accounts as part of the scheme. Both actions are considered illegal.
Valve has banned South American player Gianluca “Migi” Mendoza for match-fixing in addition to the 10 other bans that have been issued.
The Dota 2 world is currently in the midst of qualifiers for the DPC leagues, which have yet to officially begin. It appears that Valve is taking a more proactive approach to ensuring a level playing field this season compared to previous years.
The high number of bans issued at the start of the season demonstrates that Valve is taking the issue of fairness seriously, as the developer is typically seen as detached from the community unless a scandal occurs.
It is uncertain how the consequences of these bans will impact the teams and players involved. It is possible that they will encounter significant disruptions and difficulties as they attempt to rebuild and continue their careers. On the other hand, the lasting impact of these bans could serve as a warning to other players considering similar actions in the future.
