The player was caught on camera watching the live stream during a match pause.
BetBoom 2-0 victory again Tundra Esports has been overturned, after BetBoom's Pure was caught alt-tabbing to watch a Twitch stream during the match. Watching a live-stream is prohibited during an ongoing match due to the potential to gain an unfair advantage.
BetBoom were later hit with an additional punishment which saw Pure disqualified from the entire event.
This article is regularly updated as more information becomes available. Click here for the original story.
Bali Major Updates:
Pure Disqualified from Bali Major
Pure has been disqualified from the Bali Major for flouting the Major rules on accessing "external information" during a match. This has been confirmed on stream.
Pure was disqualified for the remainder of the event for breaking rules 5.2.2 and 5.2.3. You can find the Major rulebook here.
5.2.2 Information Abuse
Communication during the match with people not involved in the match is strictly forbidden, the same is true for using information about your game from other external sources (e.g., streams)
5.2.3 Punishments for Cheating
When cheating is uncovered in the event, the result(s) of the match(es) in question will be voided. The player will be disqualified, forfeit his prize money and be banned from all competitions for a duration of normally 5 years. This duration can be lower, if significant mitigating factors are in play, but also higher, if there are aggravating circumstances."
Betboom and the official Bali Major streamed later confirmed Resolut1on would act as a stand-in for the Bali Major. Resolut1on, who finished runner-up at TI6 and TI11, was already present at the event due to being one of the talent on the English broadcast.
Epulze also released an official statement highlighting the rules flouted by the player.
The Incident
The incident which sparked the disqualification happened during BetBoom's match versus Tundra Esports in the upper-bracket of the Bali Major. During a pause, BetBoom's Pure was seen watching a Twitch stream which was later confirmed to be Nix's stream, a popular Eastern European streamer who was streaming the event on his channel.
The incident happened during a very long pause in the middle of the match, but the Major rules state that players are not allowed to access external information, this includes Twitch streams.
Having the stream running in the background is an issue because Dota 2 is a game of information. As such, while you may not have the latest information, sometimes information a few minutes old is equally valuable. The timings of certain items and events can help a player understand the opponent’s financial and positional situation.
Most esports tournaments have referees or admins standing behind the teams while they are playing to prevent similar infringements.
Despite winning their match against Tundra 2-0, BetBoom's win was revoked as a punishment for Pure watching a stream mid-match. This meant BetBoom were moved to the lower-bracket, and unfortunately lost the automatic qualification for TI12 they had earned from the win over Tundra.
What does Betboom's loss mean for their TI dreams?
Earlier we’d reported BetBoom has qualified for The International after defeating Tundra. However, with the new information, BetBoom is no longer guaranteed the 400 points it would’ve received had it won against Tundra. As such, BetBoom is no longer confirmed as an invitation to The International 2023.
They can still qualify for The International if they make a lower bracket run at the Bali Major. BetBoom needs to finish in the Top eight in order to secure the necessary DPC points to qualify for TI. At the time of writing, they sit at 760 points, just 240 shy of the minimum 900 required.
The Bali Major is the final Dota 2 Major of the season with $500,000 on the line and a chance to qualify for TI for some of the teams. You can catch all the action live on Twitch.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Dota 2 news and updates.
Tundra Esports penalized
Tundra has also received a penalty, although it's not as severe as Betboom's. The team's player, 33 was seen alt-tabbing to check on his Spotify, which is not allowed as per the rules (see below).
4.9.5 Internet Access
Internet access on tournament computers is limited for all participants. Once the draft begins, all terminals must have only Steam, Dota 2 and TeamSpeak running.
Team Liquid clarifies the facts
Amidst Pure checking the stream during the match pause, there were also rumors of Team Liquid players leaving the room during the pause, something which is clearly not allowed as per the Major rules.
Team Liquid have clarified they did not leave the hotel room during the pause, even urging officials to check the hotel security cameras to verify their claim.