Valve banned Stinger live during DreamLeague Qualifiers
Valve recently banned a South American support player, Steven “StingeR” Vargas, as he was playing DreamLeague Season 22 qualifiers. His actions caused his team, Mad Kings, to forfeit the series, giving an auto-win to their opponents, Thunder Awaken.
Stinger playing for Beastcoast at The International 2021.Credits: Valve
Valve has made its stance against the Smurfs clear in their latest Frostivus update. They banned numerous accounts and toxic players while giving a final warning to some professional players on smurfing.
Despite their warnings, some pro players continued their ill-mannered behaviors, and Valve has been swift with the action. Additionally, there are reports of Smurf accounts belonging to Vladislav "Kataomi`" Semenov and Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev getting banned.
The Stinger Ban
You would think players would be discreet about sharing accounts. However, Parker has other plans.Image Source: Reddit
In recent days, the Dota 2 community has been trying to build a case against Stinger. Two days ago, someone on Reddit shared definitive proof that the Mad Kings’s safelaner David "Parker" Nicho Flores is using Stinger’s account, indicating he is giving him an MMR boost.
Valve said" Bring it on" to Parker's Taunt and ban the account belonging to his teammate, Stinger.Image Source: Reddit
Additionally, Parker openly admitted he was playing on his teammate’s account during a pub match. Moreover, he recklessly taunted others to “ban him” while playing on the account, which belongs to Stinger. Unfortunately, his team had to pay for the consequences of his actions at the worst time possible.
Valve’s Justice
During the lower bracket series between Thunder Awaken and Mad Kings, Stinger disconnected from the game around the seven-minute mark. The player was not able to reconnect back to the game. The punishment was expected for the duo, but getting punished live was beyond everyone’s wildest dreams. Even the caster duo for the particular series was agape as the event unfolded live in front of their eyes. All they could do was laugh at the hilarious scenario they got put into.
Parker clarified his intentions via a Twitter reply.Following the ban, the community questioned Parker’s intentions. Many speculated that the player was recently banned on his main account. Thus, he was practicing for the tournament with his support’s account.
A Clear Message
Mason received an account ban during the frostivus update.Credits: Valve
If the event happened before the Frostivus ban wave, the community would think the ban was not intentional. However, with all the action that unfolded in recent months, this is a message from Valve. Executing a punishment in the middle of a crucial match fits their profile more. They want to send a crystal clear message that no one, not even pro players, can walk away from them.
Mad Kings were eliminated from the qualifiers as Stinger got banned from Valve, and Thunder Awaken advanced to the lower bracket.
Surprisingly, Stinger getting banned is not the first high-profile case Valve has taken action with. Recently, a Dota 2 streamer, Mason "Mason" Venne, got banned for boosting the behaviour score on his account. He gained widespread attention from the gaming community because of the way Valve hilariously banned his account.
Featured Image Source: Valve
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