ESL has completed and shared the results of its bug investigation that led to NAVI Junior’s disqualification from Dota 2’s ESL One Raleigh.
The bug allows teams to detect whether opponents have used Smoke of Deceit since they were last seen. This is done by dragging the enemy’s smoke, which will display an error if unused. However, if no message appears, it indicates that the smoke has already been activated.
Since the announcement was made on January 22nd, further details on the investigation have now been revealed by ESL. This includes checks that were conducted on other teams.
“There are 0 legitimate ways to gain updated information on the status of an opponent’s inventory in Dota while they’re in the fog of war, outside of utilising this bug,” ESL stated in the official ruling.
“Therefore, combined with its widespread banning in other recent tournaments, we believe it is reasonable to consider the abuse of this bug to go against the spirit of Dota.”
According to the ruling, the investigation was reopened by ESL after the community helped in identifying additional uses of the bug.
A special software tool was also used this time to detect all instances in which the exploit may have been triggered.
After reviewing all qualifier matches, ESL categorised teams based on the extent of the abuse. The investigation revealed that 9Pandas exploited the bug 160 times, followed by NAVI Junior with 115 instances and Aurora Gaming with 50.
As part of the ruling, NAVI Junior’s qualification has remained revoked. Meanwhile, 9Pandas and Aurora Gaming, both of which failed to qualify, will be unable to participate in the event if another team is unable to represent their region.
Other teams, including Passion UA, One Move, Virtus.Pro, Winter Bear, Tundra Esports, Team Spirit and Team Secret, will face fines due to ‘moderate abuse’ of the bug.
Teams that committed minor infractions will receive warnings, while accidental use of the bug will not result in penalties.
NAVI has publicly criticised the decision on social media.
“As it turns out, the bug is actually allowed but only in limited cases — and if you’re Tundra or Spirit,” NAVI tweeted.
The organisation also added: “In defence of our team, we want to point out that ESL admins did not issue any warnings about the prohibition of the bug prior to the qualifier, which led to its widespread use.”
According to ESL, while teams were not explicitly re-informed that the bug was prohibited during the One Raleigh qualifiers, they were also not informed that its usage was permitted. The bug has since been patched out of the game and it was banned during PGL Wallachia Season 3 as well.
Rabia is a news writer for Esports Insider and a freelance on-screen VALORANT desk analyst and interviewer. When she’s not working, you’ll find her rewatching Marvel movies and crushing on Elizabeth Olsen and Scarlett Johansson.