PSG.LGD Hands xiao8 30 Day Suspension, Launches Internal Investigation

PSG.LGD has suspended its Dota 2 coach Zhang "xiao8" Ning for 30 days due to the negative impact the recent allegations of betting has had on the organization’s reputation. Following PSG.LGD’s grand final loss at The International 10 (TI10), xiao8’s ex-wife had accused him of gambling and even betting against his team, but these claims have not been proven so far. PSG.LGD, however, has now revealed in a statement posted on its Weibo account that it is conducting an investigation into this matter with a monitoring center and Valve. The Chinese organization did not mention the results of the inquiry, but it temporarily suspended xiao8 for the damage the public perception of this controversy caused to its brand.

PSG.LGD suspends xiao8 due to brand damage caused by his betting controversy

PSG.LGD posted on Weibo on 2nd Dec 2021 that, after a month of preparation, it was able to create an inspection center on 24th Nov 2021. A chief investigative officer was hired, and the center's purpose was to eliminate any improper conduct that harmed the principle of fair play. This center was run independently, as PSG.LGD noted.

Further, after xiao8's betting controversy drew a lot of public attention, PSG.LGD mentioned that it had asked Valve to investigate the audio and images of TI10's grand final. The inspection center also conducted an investigation after all players completed the mandatory safety protocols after arriving in China from Romania.

PSG.LGD's statement revealed that xiao8 had been suspended for 30 days due to the damage the organization's brand suffered as a consequence of his personal reasons.

A screenshot of PSG.LGD's email chain with Valve was also shared along with their Weibo post. In it, PSG.LGD mentioned that they believe that the players, coach and the team crew were clean.

Additionally, a message from Bruno (A Valve employee) that explicitly states that Valve did not believe that PSG.LGD had matchfixed in the tournament, was also present.

"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."

The controversy arose shortly after PSG.LGD lost in TI10's grand final on Oct 17th, 2021. It was brought to light by xiao8's ex-wife when she accused him of cheating on her and also betting on games, including those in which his team participated in.

While these accusations were bold in themselves, the controversy became even more heated because of what occurred during TI10's grand final loss. During TI10, Magnus was the signature hero of Team Spirit's offlaner Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov, but PSG.LGD decided not to ban him during the fifth and final game, and eventually lost it. In the eyes of many in the community, PSG.LGD would have won if they just banned the hero instead of trying to counter it. The fact that PSG.LGD lost at the end has led many to blame xiao8 for letting the hero through, as he plays a key role in drafting the heroes. When the allegations of betting were made, the community saw this as one of the reasons to believe them. Nevertheless, these have remained just allegations since then, and no concrete evidence has surfaced.

Furthermore, some of the PSG.LGD players stated on social media, after TI10's grand final loss, that playing against Magnus was a collective decision, as opposed to just xiao8's.

So far, PSG.LGD is not scheduled to compete in any events in December 2021. The Chinese league of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 has been delayed, and it will only begin in January 2022. PSG.LGD's first series is on 3rd Jan 2022 against Team Aster, so xiao8's 30-day suspension should be over at that time.

(Translation courtesy DeepL Translate)

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