Infamous Leostyle-’s Racist Courier Name May Have Hurt Team's TI11 Hopes

The South American (SA) qualifiers have concluded, as Hokori’s miracle run in the lower bracket prevailed over Infamous in the Grand Finals by stomping them 3-0. However, before the Grand Finals itself, Infamous were controversially penalized by tournament organizers PGL for the discovery of a racial slur during its match against Tempest in the Upper Bracket Finals.

The racial slur was found on Infamous mid laner, Leonardo "Leostyle-" Sifuentes’s courier, which later resulted in a draft selection penalty in the Grand Finals match against Hokori where they would lose 0-3 to the victors.

Leostyle- 's courier name could have cost Infamous a TI11 direct invite.

The first batch of The International 2022 (TI11) Regional Qualifiers has concluded, with Eastern Europe (EEU) and South American (SA) crowning BetBoom Team and Hokori as their regions’ top seed, earning them a direct invitation to the TI11 Group Stage. Both qualifiers saw upsets in the Grand Finals, as Outsiders and Infamous were considered heavy favorites to directly qualify the TI11 Group Stage.

In the SA qualifiers, Infamous were looking dominant as they were undefeated going into the Grand Finals. However, the Peruvian organization was penalized by tournament organizers PGL as the community discovered a racial slur on Leostyle- 's courier. After the conclusion of Infamous’s series against Tempest in the Upper Bracket finals, people were quick to point out the issue.

Following the discovery, Infamous was sanctioned by the tournament organizers and given a draft penalty in the Grand Finals match against Hokori. The penalty meant that Infamous would neither be able to pick radiant/dire in the map nor could it prioritize first pick during drafting, which gave Hokori a tactical advantage.

Hokori ended up pulling an upset over Infamous, as the team that were recently relegated to Division II for the next Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season made a miraculous run in the SA Regional Qualifiers by defeating Infamous in a 3-0 series stomp in the Grand Finals, earning themselves a place in the TI11 Group Stage.

While Infamous will still have a final chance to qualify for TI11 Group Stage via the Last Chance Qualifiers, could they have earned the direct invitation themselves in the Grand Finals if it weren't for the penalty?