- This spring Dota 2 teams Wind and Rain and Pecado Squad Gaming got accused of match-fixing
- As a result the two received lifetime bans from both BTS and Valve
- Two members were recently found innocent and unbanned, sparking hope for the rest of the players
Banned for match-fixing, Dota 2 teams Wind and Rain and Pecado Squad Gaming continue to fight to prove their innocence to Valve and BTS.
Where the Trouble Began
In May two DPC teams, namely Wind and Rain and Pecado Squad Gaming, were banned from all Valve and Beyond the Summit-hosted esports events because of match-fixing allegations. Because of this, the teams suddenly found themselves excluded from Dota 2’s main esports events and they lost their shot at The International 10.
The allegations were backed by an investigation by BTS. The tournament organizer had concluded that the teams were guilty of fraud and proceeded with the penalty.
However, even though Pecado Squad played fairly regularly, Wind and Rain had been suspicious for quite some time. The first critiques against the team came when the organization signed the Lower DPC Division A-Team roster, only to dismiss three of its players shortly after. Even though Wind and Rain released a statement where they explained why things happened as they did, esports fans came to suspect that this was done in order to prepare a team that agrees to partake in match-fixing and fraud.
Additionally, Wind and Rain lost six out of their seven total games during the second season of the NA DPC League, which further boosted people’s skepticism.
Pecado Squad Gaming didn’t do anything out of the ordinary and won a whole three out of its seven games. However, the investigation concluded that Pecado Squad was guilty as well and as a result, the team got banned.
The Struggle to Prove Their Innocence
In the past few months, the players actively sought justice as most of them said they never heard anything about match-fixing. Moreover, some of the people who were banned were no longer part of the teams at the time of the ban. One such person is Ilyas “Steel-_-Borco” Kaukenov who played two series with Wind and Rain and left the team afterward. Steel-_-Borco is firm that he never knew anything about fixing matches.
Chad “Szabo666” Szabo emphasized that not only did he refrain from partaking in match-fixing, but that in fact, he was the one to report the suspicious activity. Szabo666 also defended Steel-_-Borco by saying he is sure of the latter athlete’s innocence.
Vladimir “yol” Basov from Wind and Rain also shared his view on the matter. According to him, the team was losing because of poor performance and communication. Yol said that at one point he decided to just play the game for fun and stopped taking it too seriously. Yol’s words were confirmed by Daniil “satesate” Krivenko who claimed his bad internet connection added to the team’s abysmal performance.
There may be a happy ending for the players as on August 11 Szabo666 and Steel-_-Borco were cleared of their bans by Beyond the Summit. Next Valve will also be taking a look and will possibly unban them as well.
Pecado Squad Gaming also tried to prove their innocence and submitted proof to BTS and Valve. They are currently waiting for the esports bodies to review their case.
