- Russian Dota 2 player Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko was recently signed by Entity
- The player had made a controversial action, linking him to supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The organization says it does not condone Pure’s action but wants to give the 18-year-old a chance
Entity has recently signed a controversial Russian player to their Dota 2 roster, stating that he should be given a chance to prove himself.
Entity Signs a Controversial Player
The war between Russia and Ukraine has been raging on for more than three months and with thousands of casualties, both military and civilian, it seems there is no end in sight. But the war’s consequences have reached far outside the borders of the two countries directly involved. Tons of sanctions and trading interdictions have changed prices globally.
Opinions also seem divided sometimes, even in the esports community. And although the community has condemned the war and some streamers are even directly helping with the humanitarian relief efforts, there are still those who have had controversial statements regarding the conflict.
One such is Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko, a professional Dota 2 player, recently hired by Entity. The player was before fired from Virtus.pro after drawing a controversial “Z” symbol on the in-game mini-map of a game the team was playing live on stream.
Why Is Pure’s Action So Controversial?
The problem is that the Z symbol, commonly seen on many Russian army vehicles and used as a tactical symbol to differentiate units, is also often used in Kremlin propaganda as a pro-war symbol. It has been adopted by many supporters of the war in Ukraine and used both in Russia and abroad.
Pure drew the symbol on the mini-map during a paused game while his team was playing at Eastern Europe’s Dota Pro Circuit Regional Playoffs last month. After the match, Beyond The Summit and Valve officially disqualified Virtus.pro’s roster. Shortly after that incident, the organization fired Pure for “diminishing actions that led to disqualification from the tournament” and causing additional harm to the organization’s “relationship with the worldwide esports society” cited as reasons.
Despite Pure’s controversial actions, Entity was rumored to be interested in the player. Now that the organization has signed the Dota 2 pro, it says it is fully aware of the PR nightmare” that awaits it. Entity claims this move is purely a way to preserve and improve its performance in the DPC.
“We believe that the mistake he made was not small, but we also believe that it was not big enough for him losing his potential Dota 2 career as an 18-year-old talent,” Entity wrote in the statement. Nevertheless, the organization’s recent acquisition sparked heated discussion. Entity does not want to “speak for him” and hopes Pure will come out with his own statement in due time.
