Chinese Esports Teams Banned Over Dota 2 Match Fixing

The punitive action from developer Valve Corporation came after the teams, Newbee and Avengerls, showed obvious signs of foul play during a head-to-head match.

One of China’s most renowned esports organizations has received a lifetime ban from competing in the online battle arena game Dota 2 following a high-profile match-fixing scandal.

In a post Saturday on microblogging platform Weibo, Dota 2 said the team, Newbee, and five of its players are now banned from future competitions organized by the game’s U.S. owner, Valve Corporation, and Chinese partner, Perfect World Entertainment.

The post, which has received over 21,000 likes, identified the players by their legal names as well as the in-game names by which they’re better known: Moogy, AQ, Wizard, Waixi, and Faith.

Founded in 2014 as a “dream team” of China’s top Dota 2 players, Newbee went on to win that year’s premier global tournament, The International, bringing glory to their country and taking home $5 million in cash — an esports record at the time. In 2017, the team finished second at the same tournament, winning another $3.95 million.

In the years since, however, Newbee has struggled financially and failed to bring in highly touted talent. Then in February 2020, the team won 2-1 against a largely unknown team from Shanghai, Avengerls, in a set of matches rife with obvious signs of foul play from both sides. In one game, Avengerls managed to lose after storming out of the gate to take an overwhelming early-game advantage over Newbee.

Three months later, in May, the Chinese Dota 2 Professional Association — a newly formed league comprising eight domestic teams — as well as several domestic broadcasters announced lifetime bans against Newbee for match fixing. Continue to read the full article here

 

– This article originally appeared on Sixth Tone