PSG.LGD Clears Xiao8 of Gambling Allegations After Internal Investigation

An internal investigation by PSG.LGD, which was initiated at the beginning of December 2021 in order to discover the truth behind the betting allegations levied against its Dota 2 coach Zhang "xiao8" Ning, has found no evidence of such malpractice. In a Weibo post on 29th Dec 2021, PSG.LGD disclosed that the independent monitoring center, which took charge of this investigation, went through xiao8's documents and all evidence available in this case and concluded that xiao8 did not engage in any unfair practices. Xiao8's 30-day suspension which was issued at the beginning of this investigation will now be terminated unless any objection is raised with appropriate evidence within the next three days of this result.

Xiao8’s suspension soon to be lifted after PSG.LGD’s internal investigation finds him not guilty of unfair practices

The monitoring center, according to PSG.LGD's Weibo statement, collected all the internet information on the accusations of unfair practices that xiao8 was deemed to be involved in. Information was gathered from mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devices, as well as from applications such as WeChat and Alipay, all with the consent of the people concerned, according to PSG.LGD.

The monitoring center reviewed all of this data and interviewed various people under the supervision of the public security department, but no evidence of unfair practices by xiao8 was found. PSG.LGD stated:

• The personnel of the DOTA2 division of our club did not behave improperly to influence the fairness of the tournament and did not attempt to influence the result of the tournament in a way that violated sports ethics.

• After the TI10 tournament, the situation reflected in the negative pictures related to Zhang Ning (ID: xiao8) on the Internet is not true.

When this investigation began at the beginning of December 2021, xiao8 had been given a thirty-day suspension for the damage this controversy caused to PSG.LGD's brand. Now, according to PSG.LGD, any party who has any objections to the results of this monitoring center and has any evidence to present may do so within the next three days. However, the suspension of xiao8 will be terminated, and he will be able to return to coaching if no appropriate objection is made, or if it is ignored by the center.

This controversy had arisen shortly after PSG.LGD lost TI10's grand final on 17th Oct 2021 to Team Spirit. Xiao8's ex-wife had then come forward with the details, accusing him of cheating on her and betting on games, including ones in which his team was involved.

Valve had already expressed its belief that no unfair practices had been conducted at TI10. When the internal investigation was initiated, PSG.LGD had released an email chain with Valve. The email chain requested that Valve examine the audio and video files of TI10. A message from Bruno (A Valve employee) had explicitly stated that Valve did not believe that PSG.LGD had indulged in matchfixing in the tournament. "We have no reason to believe LGD matchfixed nor did anything wrong during the finals. We are confident in the integrity of TI10 and its outcome.”

PSG.LGD will play its first series in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Tour 1: Division 1 against Team Aster on 3rd Jan 2022. Should no objection be raised, xiao8 will return to coaching the squad, starting from this series.

(Translation courtesy DeepL Translate)

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