Plus One, a professional American Dota 2 team, has been suspended from Beyond the Summit’s Pro Series on the charge of matchmaking. The team has been eliminated from the tournament and three out of the five-player roasters have been blacklisted to compete in any esports event organised by Beyond The Summit. The suspended players include team leader Xuan, Ched, and Jano. The other two players, dnm & Wij under investigation but they’re allowed to compete in future BTS event at this time.
The news came from Beyond The Summit’s official Twitter handle where Plus One was charged with “multiple, confirmed incidents of match-fixing.” Following the announcement, Plus One’s scores were immediately listed as 0-9 for the group stage. Moreover, the team was removed from the standing list and all previous matches against the opponents were nullified.
David “Godz” Parker, CEO of Beyond The Summit, first announced the allegations of match-fixing against the team in question on r/DotA2, a subreddit dedicated to Dota. The alleged matches were played against Evil Geniuses, Quincy Crew and Plasma. Parker further went on to explain that fixed matches simply don’t relate to winning or losing. An array of bets revolve around other in-game events such as first blood (first kill), F10K (first 10 kills), the total number of kills or the kill difference the two teams. While esports betting has been around for a long time and still reigns strong, match-fixing is becoming quite a rare sight. The act is against the laws of tournaments and as organisers become more vigilant and stricter with their punishments, most of the teams refrain from match-fixing.
Tournament organisers Beyond The Summit also affirmed that they passed on all the relevant information and evidence to Valve, the developers of Dota 2. Valve is not a company who takes match-fixings lightly. Usually, in the past, they’ve handed out lengthy or even lifetime bans to the players who were found guilty of match-fixing.
The long bans and alleged charges negatively impact the career and reputation of professional esports players, often going as far as completely ruining their careers. The banned players will find it difficult to sign new contracts with other teams as a lot of tournament organisers may choose to ban them as well on the same allegations.
Despite the elimination of Plus One, Dota 2 Pro Series will roll on. The final match will take place on June 29 for the title of champions and a prize of $50,000.