The Esports Integrity Committee announced severe penalties for Dota 2 match-fixing players.
2026-09-11 08:40
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) recently announced its disciplinary decisions, with former PlayTime coach and director Vintage receiving a lifetime ban and mid-laner DarkMago receiving a five-year ban.
The two players have been confirmed to have attempted to manipulate matches during the 2026 Dota 2 Esports World Cup (EWC) in July. Since major tournament organizers like ESL and BLAST are members of ESIC, this ruling essentially ends their professional careers.
The investigation revealed that in the group stage match against Team Liquid on July 7, Vintage agreed to receive monetary compensation in an attempt to cause the team to lose 0-2 and to recruit DarkMago.
However, the match ended in a 1-1 draw, failing to achieve the intended result. In addition to match-fixing, Vintage also concealed information about violations and failed to cooperate with the investigation; although DarkMago did not directly orchestrate the match-fixing, his failure to report the attempt after becoming aware of it constituted a serious violation as well.
This incident dealt a heavy blow to the South American Dota 2 region. Previously, in August, LGD's mid-laner TaiLung was also banned from all PGL matches due to issues of competitive integrity, forcing LGD to urgently bring in Topson as a substitute before TI 2026.
With LGD disbanding its South American roster after the tournament, a series of integrity controversies have plunged the region's professional esports environment into an unprecedented predicament.
Image source: Internet
