Popular Russian Dota 2 player Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev, along with Lima Major 2023 champion Quinn “Quinn” Callahan and Oliver “skiter” Lepko recently commented on the match-fixing scandal that has rocked the esports scene. RAMZES who is a former Virtus.Pro and Na’Vi carry seemingly mocked alleged players and teams who were involved in this scandal. He also recalled one scenario where his team at the time, Virtus.pro (VP) scrimmed against EZ KATKA, a team with one of the players accused of cheating, Lefitan. Alongside this, skiter and Quinn believe that players should be permanently banned from any Dota 2 tournaments if they are found to be cheating or match-fixing.
Ramzes, Quinn, skiter, and Team Spirit manager comment about match-fixers and cheaters
In his recent stream, RAMZES shared his thoughts and frustration over the current controversy of match-fixing in the Dota 2 community, stating that even if there is no proof, everyone knows (about match-fixing and cheating).
As first reported by escorenews, RAMZES mocked all the accused players and their teams, saying that they would still be denying the allegations if their teammates asked them about it. He also recalled an incident where his team (at the time) was scrimmaging against EZ KATKA, the team with Lefitan on it at the time, and could not understand why they were losing, hinting at the use of cheats, stating that they (match-fixers) can provide observers for cheating at any point for these teams.
Additionally, the manager of Team Spirit, Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov, expressed skepticism towards the accusations made by Monetin. According to escorenews, Korb3n said that "It's hard to trust Monetin without serious evidence, when he is, obviously, greedy and dumb as a rock. He will lie about anything just to get a profit."
Lima Major 2023 champion Quinn also shared his thoughts on the match-fixing scandal on Twitter, showing support for his teammate's sentiment. He retweeted skiter's tweet and endorsed the statement, stating that any player or team found guilty of match-fixing should be permanently banned from Dota 2 tournaments without exception. Quinn's endorsement aligns with a zero-tolerance approach to cheating in professional esports, emphasizing the importance of accountability among players and teams
Lefitan, along with many other players and teams is part of a large-scale investigation into match-fixing and cheating by Russian YouTuber and journalist Morf, and the allegations have caused a massive stir in the Dota 2 community. With players like RAMZES, Quinn and skiter commenting further on the situation, it may only be a matter of time before Valve steps in to conduct their own investigation and provide concrete decisions on the future of these teams and players.