ESL One unban Valve's banned players, Dota 2 pros are upset

After making its stance against smurfs known to the community, Valve is taking swift action against smurf accounts, including the ones belonging to professional players.

Many players are rejoiced over Valve’s decision. However, their joy was cut short by ESL One and the organisers’ decision to unban the players banned by Valve. The action caused a lot of professional players to voice their opinions.

Full Details

Valve penalized several professional players in 2022 for sharing their accounts and impersonating others. Both actions are explicitly banned under Valve’s rule book. Yaroslav "Limitless" Parhsin was one of the players who received a ban.

However, Limitless appealed the decision to ESL. He announced on Telegram that ESL approved his appeal in his recent message. Additionally, it means that Limitless will be eligible to participate in tournaments hosted by ESL One in the future. The player also clarified the exception is only applicable to ESL tournaments.

Limitless took to Telegram to share his good news.
Image Source: VK

It is a happy moment for the player and others who got banned. However, some professional players are displeased with the tournament organisers' decisions and called them out. The International 2022 Champion and Team Falcon’s safelaner took to X to voice his concerns about the decision.

Skiter at The International 2022, where his team got crowned as the Champions.
Credits: Valve

The player states lifting the ban on former match-fixers has negative consequences on the competitive integrity of the Dota 2 professional scene. He also urged ESL One to reconsider its decision.

Shortly after his tweet, Quinn "Quinn" Callahan, the midlaner for Gaimin Gladiators, shared Skiter's thoughts. The player also provided his own opinion. The three-time Major champion concurs with Skiter and deems it a "cardinal sin" to intentionally manipulate the outcome of a match.

Quinn was widely known as one of the most toxic players in the past. However, last year, he changed his ways, earning him an esports player of the year nomination.
Image Source: Twitter. @GaiminGladiators

He also raises a concerning question: how will anyone know if the cheaters are not cheating again?

The Community Opinions 

Solo is the first player to throw a high-profile match. The player later embraced his mistakes and the meme it created.
Credits: Valve

Some people support the opinions of the players, while others disagree. Those who disagree recalled the time that the first ever high-profile match-fixing incident occurred.

Alexey "Solo" Berezin threw an official match for 322 USD and was given a lifetime ban from Star-ladder tournaments as punishment.

However, after admitting his mistake, the tournament organisers reduced his sentence to a year. Since then, 322 has become a meme within the Dota 2 community. The meme is used often when a suspicious play occurs in an official match.

The New Rules

Valve Bans Stinger live during a DreamLeague match.
Credits :Valve

Amidst the outcry and ongoing smurfpocalypse, Steven "StingeR" Vargas, a SA support player, received an account ban in the middle of the DreamLeague Season 22 qualifier match. The banned player’s team was disbanded after six hours of the incident. The action forced ESL One’s hands. Thus, on the following day, the tournament organisers made an official statement regarding smurf and alternate accounts.

The new rules have some room for error, but ESL One now has the authority to accept or reject players banned by Valve. As per the new rule book, Valve bans will place a player under a two-year ban for ESL tournaments. However, if a banned player's offense does not affect competitive play, such as account sharing for public matches from the past, ESL One will waive the ban and unban the player for the tournament.

The unban waiver from ESL One is subject to certain conditions. The player must use a new account, and the new account must not have any history of account sharing. The new rules provide a second chance for banned players willing to admit their mistakes.

The new rules give ESL the ability to take appropriate action against offenders, but these actions are not as severe as Valve's rules. A VAC account ban could mean the end of a player's career in the past.

Now, players will have the opportunity to redeem themselves. Furthermore, Valve and tournament organisers should work together to prevent match delays and forfeits in future tournaments before the next wave of smurfpocalpyse.

Featured Image Source: Valve &  Twitter.@ESL

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