Somnus Explains Azure Ray’s Request for Pure’s Disqualification at the Bali Major

Azure Ray's midlaner Lu "Somnus" Yao explained why his team requested BetBoom Team carry Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko's disqualification from the Bali Major 2023. Azure was supposed to play Tundra in the lower bracket after BetBoom beat it, but because Pure disobeyed the rules, BetBoom was dealt a default loss, leaving little time for Azure to prepare for the Eastern European squad. After studying Tundra extensively for a day, a stronger team in BetBoom became its opponent at the eleventh hour which he added was unfair for his team. In the meantime, Somnus said Pure had violated rules and there was nothing wrong with such a request.

Somnus talks about the significance of requesting Pure's disqualification at the Bali Major

According to Twitter user CN Dota In A Nutshell (@Tr1H4rd3rDota2), Somnus was very confident and clear about Azure’s handling of BetBoom's situation. Somnus and his teammates simply did what was in the rules after BetBoom had violated them.

In addition to holding BetBoom accountable for their actions, according to Somnus, this situation was made worse by the fact that they only had two hours to prepare for BetBoom, a team that was in much better shape than Tundra at the time.

Dota 2 players were divided over BetBoom Team's default loss and Pure's disqualification from the Bali Major 2023 in particular. The organizers acted according to the rules, but others felt Pure had simply opened Twitch to watch a community broadcast and there was no malicious intent, so such a punishment was unjust.

Eastern European Dota 2 fans were particularly disappointed as the team had assured itself a direct invite to The International 12 when they won the series, however, after the default loss, the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points were reversed and an elimination series against Azure awaited.

After BetBoom's unexpected loss to Azure which led to its elimination, tensions rose and a section of the community directed its frustration specifically towards the Chinese teams.

However, as fate would have it, BetBoom was able to earn a direct invite to The International 12 as the teams behind it in the DPC rankings were unable to outrank it.

While BetBoom received the coveted invite, Azure Ray, particularly due to its formation late into the season, failed to accumulate enough DPC points and will have to compete in the regional qualifiers to attend The International 12. The qualifiers will be held in August 2023.