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AFK Gaming
Dota 2 professional Wang "Ame" Chunyu, who currently sits in the inactive roster of LGD Gaming, shared his thoughts on a perplexing gesture from BetBoom Team’s Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko. At The International 2023 (TI12), Pure typed a simple question mark ("?") in the all-chat at the 30:48 minute mark at the end of game 2 after defeating Azure Ray in the group stage. This behavior by Pure sparked speculation within the Dota 2 community, suggesting a lingering rift from the events that unfolded at the Bali Major 2023. Ame and Zhao "XinQ" Zixing reportedly spoke about this development on a recent stream.
Ame's Observations on Pure Typing ‘?’ Against Azure Ray
Ame recently shared his thoughts concerning Pure's “passive-aggressive” ? all-chat message after defeating Azure Ray with a score of 2-0 at the TI12 group stage. According to a translation by CN Dota In A Nutshell on Twitter, Ame speculated that Pure still harbors resentment towards the Chinese team for its role in the disqualification Pure faced at the Bali Major 2023.
Ame reportedly said, “Looks like he [Pure] still hates AR [Azure Ray] very much.” Replying to this comment, XinQ replied, “I feel like he’s kinda lost his mind about it.”
Ame's comments drew attention to the seemingly ongoing tension between Pure and the Chinese Dota 2 community, suggesting that the repercussions of the Bali Major incident may continue to resonate in the professional Dota 2 scene.
What Happened to Pure at the Bali Major 2023?
The roots of this unfolding drama between Pure and Azure Ray can be traced back to 6th July during The Bali Major 2023. Chinese Dota 2 team Azure Ray made a formal request to the officials to have Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko disqualified from BetBoom Team, following a controversial incident during a match against Tundra Esports.
Notably, the match against Tundra Esports originally ended 2-0 in favor of BetBoom Team. However, during a pause in the match, Pure was caught watching the Twitch stream of their game, which was a direct violation of tournament rules.
As a result, BetBoom Team suffered a default loss, and the match was awarded to Tundra Esports, shifting BetBoom Team to the lower bracket. This decision had profound implications, as it also affected BetBoom Team’s invitation status to TI12.
Following this, Azure Ray pressed on to address this and asked the admins of the tournament to disqualify Pure for their upcoming match. Azure Ray pointed out chapter 5.2 of the rulebook, which mandated a ban for players caught cheating. When the organizers offered the option of banning Pure after the team's match against Azure Ray, the team rejected this proposal, demanding that the penalty be enforced immediately according to the rulebook
Due to this, BetBoom Team underwent significant changes. It brought in Roman "Resolut1on" Fominok as its standin to replace Pure for the match against Azure Ray.
The confusing use of a simple question mark by Pure at TI12 might signify the underlying tension that has yet to be resolved. It demonstrates that esports rivalries are not limited to the digital arena but also extend into the realm of emotions and professional pride.
