DOTA 2‘s International 2022 tournament is in full swing, but developer Valve is facing heat from the community regarding the stage setup. Most notably, the lack of sound-proof booths seemingly impacted the playoff match between Gaimin Gladiators and Fnatic.
After Fnatic’s elimination on Thursday, CGO Patrik Sättermon announced that the company had filed a formal complaint claiming that Gaimin Gladiators could hear arena commentators during the match — suggesting that there was an unfair advantage.
“As a former player, I am very frustrated that such integrity issues are still not prevented, especially on the absolute biggest stage of the sport,” Sättermon said on Twitter. “Our intention is solely to raise awareness about something that can be as game-breaking as dream-crushing for the athletes.”
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Typically massive esports events have either noise-canceling headsets for competitors or place teams in sound-proof environments. The reason being is hearing commentators or crowd reactions means a team could learn what their opponents are doing and adjust strategies accordingly.
According to DOTA 2 pro player Anton “Dyrachyo” Shkredov, every athlete wore noise-canceling headphones at last year’s International championship in Stockholm, Sweden. Shkredov had weighed in on the 2022 controversy via Reddit translation.
“Scary thing is that you hear absolutely everything. Everything that the casters say,” Shkredov said. “You hear every smoke, every rune.”
As of the time of this post, Valve hasn’t publically addressed Fnatic’s report. With DOTA 2‘s International being one of the biggest esports events, many fans believe this commentary fiasco damages the credibility of everyone involved.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.
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