Ame Admits to Account Boosting Early in His Career

Wang "Ame" Chunyu is a celebrated professional Dota 2 player from China and he has been on a break since The International 2022 (TI11). He is currently on the inactive roster of LGD Gaming and has been making the news in the Dota 2 community recently with his quirky personality. In an unexpected revelation during a recent BiliBili livestream, Ame reportedly admitted to a brief foray into account boosting during the early stages of his gaming career. This was reported by Twitter account "CN Dota in a Nutshell," a known source in the community for insights into the Chinese Dota 2 scene.

Ame’s Account Boosting Days

Ame, whose exceptional skills have earned him a reputation as a Dota 2 Legend, reportedly revealed that he accepted financial compensation to play on other players' accounts and assist them in ascending the matchmaking rating (MMR) ladder. This practice transpired during his summer breaks when his MMR had already reached an impressive 8,000, while the accounts he operated on were situated at approximately 6,500 MMR. 

Translating Ame’s admission to account boosting, CN Dota in a Nutshell tweeted, “Ame: Some ppl paid me to play their account and help them climb MMR when I was young, but I only did that for 2 days in total. It was during my summer breaks and at that time I got like 8K MMR and their account are like 6.5K MMR, and I gained 400 MMR in 2 days for them.”

During this limited two-day endeavor, Ame claimed to have propelled these accounts by an impressive 400 MMR, before making the pivotal transition into professional gaming. He reportedly mentioned in his stream that he later went on to join the likes of He "Inflame" Yongzheng in the pursuit of becoming a pro. Notably, both Inflame and Ame were a part of the CDEC Youth in 2015 and 2016.

This admission casts a revealing light on the commonplace phenomenon within the online gaming realm, wherein players are monetarily incentivized to enhance the MMR of others. This practice, known as account boosting, is frequently frowned upon by game developers and the gaming community due to its potential to disrupt the equitable competitive landscape. It also violates the terms of service of many games and this holds true for Dota 2 as well.

It is imperative to acknowledge that numerous professional players have faced consequences for their involvement in account boosting or smurfing. Smurfing is a practice wherein accomplished players employ lower-level alternate accounts to compete against less experienced opponents.

Account trading, buying or selling is a direct violation to Steam Subscriber Agreement and Valve is known to take serious action against offenders. 

However, there has been no such announcement of any action taken against Ame at the time of writing this article.

Ame's exceptional prowess and notable achievements within the professional Dota 2 scene are widely recognized. This revelation about Ame’s brief account boosting stint may incite discussions about the necessity for more comprehensive guidelines and stringent consequences concerning such actions.