Two NA DPC Lower Division Teams Receive Lifetime Bans by Valve and BeyondtheSummit

Update on 18th Nov 2021: James 'NeeNaw' Nener mentioned on Twitter that he was a lead admin for the NA DPC in the 2021 season. As per his tweets, Steel-_-Borco and Szabo666 from Wind and Rain, and P1 from Pecado Squad Gaming have been unbanned by both BTS and Valve after being found not guilt of matchfixing.

Source: NeeNaw's Twitter

Update on 15th August, 2021: Ilyas "Steel-_-Borco" Kaukenov communicated via Twitter on 11th August, 2021 that he along with Chad "Szabo666" Szabo have been unbanned by BTS. They both played for Wind and Rain. Since they were also banned by Valve, Steel-_-Borco stated that Valve would review their case around the next competitive season or before TI.

Original article follows

Wind and Rain and Pecado Squad Gaming, two teams competing in the NA 2021 DPC Season 2: Lower Division, have been issued lifetime bans after match-fixing investigations by the tournament organizer, BeyondtheSummit. This means that these two teams can not compete in the upcoming TI regional qualifiers or in any future Valve or BeyondtheSummit events. Wind and Rain and Pecado Squad Gaming have been disqualified from the NA DPC league as well, making all their matches void. Because of this, both teams will be eliminated from the Lower Division of the NA 2021 DPC League Season 2.  Wind and Rain players and the Twitter handle for Pecado Squad Gaming have reacted to this ban by issuing statements denying the match-fixing allegations.

RELATED:  Dragon disqualified from Lower Division of China DPC Season 2

Wind and Rain and Pecado Squad Gaming banned for life

The organization of Wind and Rain had returned to the Dota 2 competitive scene in April by signing the roster of the NA DPC Lower Division team, A-Team and then controversially removing three players from the team. Wind And Rain had also issued a statement detailing this matter from its perspective

On the other hand, Pecado Squad Gaming had carved its way to the Lower Division via the open qualifiers. 

Wind and Rain had a disastrous season as they were able to grab only a single series win in a total of seven series, thus finishing in last place. Pecado Squad Gaming had a relatively better season as they had three wins and four losses and had secured a fourth-place finish. 

But BeyondtheSummit revealed on May 25, 2021, that both teams were involved in match-fixing and hence, had not only been disqualified from the league but also banned from all future events. 

Both teams had used a couple of stand-ins during the course of the league. Since the statement has not specified the exact names of the “roster members” that have been penalized, it is still unknown if stand-ins have also been banned.

Wind and Rain’s Players deny match-fixing charges 

Wind and Rain’s position four-player, Ilyas "Steel-_-Borco" Kaukenov, was a part of the squad for only the initial couple of series against D2 Hustlers and Electronic Boys. He had later revealed through his Twitter handle that he had parted ways with the organization. But since he was the original member of Wind and Rain, he has been handed a lifetime ban. 

Steel--Borco took to Twitter to deny the charges against him, swearing that he had never been involved in any suspicious activity. The player mentioned that he had been kicked after playing two series and knew nothing about Wind and Rain’s activities. 

In a series of comments on BeyondtheSummit's post, Chad "Szabo666" Szabo, a Wind and Rain player, denied involvement in any match fixing activities. According to Szabo666, he had already informed the players and the managers that he would expose any match fixing activity if he suspected it and also had proof of it. Ultimately, he claimed, he was the one who notified the admins about such suspicious activity. Szabo666 vouched for Steel-_-Borco as well, stating he was confident that the latter was innocent. 

Image Via Szabo666's TwitterVladimir "yol" Basov, Wind and Rain's position five player, took to Reddit to explain his side of the story. Yol stated that he was shocked at the match fixing allegations and went on to narrate the journey of Wind and Rain through the DPC season. The team played poorly both in officials and in scrims, Yol said. Furthermore, their communications during the matches were a mess, so Yol decided to just "chill and play dota." Hence, Yol was baffled by the match fixing allegations at the end of the season. Yol alleged that he had never been paid to fix a match nor he had betted against his own team. Moreover, he claims the ban was unfair since Valve did not provide any evidence. 

Pecado Squad Gaming also replied to BeyondtheSummit’s Twitter post. They wrote that they had submitted all the proofs to Valve as well as BeyondtheSummit and were now waiting for a response.

Image Via Pecado Squad Gaming's TwitterWind and Rain’s authenticity had already been questioned at the start of the DPC league when Szabo666 who held the ownership of A-Team had allegedly kicked three other members of the squad in return for payment from Wind and Rain. The members who had been kicked had voiced their opinions through their Twitter handles and had also lodged a complaint with Valve. Perhaps this lifetime ban on the members of Wind and Rain might be a result of the investigation on this complaint by the former members of the A-Team. 

Update:

Daniil “satesate” Krivenko, another Wind and Rain player, has dismissed his involvement in any match-fixing activities. According to satesate, 

• Wind and Rain were delivering substandard performances in scrims as well as officials. 

• Since he played from the CIS region, he claimed that he had ping and communication issues which deprived him of playing to his best ability. 

He also stated that he is a young player who dreams about playing competitive Dota 2 and hence hopes that Valve and BeyondtheSummit would unban him.