Dota 2 – Is matchfixing out of control?

Beyond The Summit co-founder and commentator GoDz stated his concerns with match-fixing in the Dota 2 scene: “Matchfixing in Dota 2 is far more common than anybody realizes.”

In the latest episode of the Zyori Plus One podcast, Beyond The Summit co-founder David “GoDz” Parker talks about his concerns with the Dota 2 pro scene.

He explains that match-fixing is a big problem especially in tier 2 and tier 3 tournaments, which he hosts regularly.

However, the issue is not necessarily only about teams throwing matches, as he explains. Several players have been requested to throw away first blood or give the enemies single kills. This kind of fixing is harder to detect than a full team throwing a match, GoDz explains.

Will individuals be punished?

“How do you prove whether someone fed first blood on purpose or not?”, he asks Zyori. The host also adds that matches can be turned around after several lost fights, so intentional deaths early on are almost impossible to detect by just re-watching the match.

Especially in the times of online play disconnects and lag are a common occurrence, so intentional disruption can only be detected and proven in very obvious cases. Even betting sites are starting to take down matches with suspicious bets going on, as an article on Dot Esports revealed.

GoDz also mentions that he reported match-fixers in BTS tournaments to Valve, Dota 2’s developers. In the past, they have been very strict about match-fixing and banned North American CS:GO team iBUYPOWER for a lifetime. Similar punishments might help to resolve the issue in Dota 2.

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