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PGL bans four more Dota 2 pro players for match-fixing in North America

Image: Valve Software

Four more players that competed in North America have been banned from Dota 2 due to match-fixing.

PGL, one of the most prominent  tournament organizers in the Dota 2 competitive scene, has banned four more players in North America for match-fixing during the DreamLeague Season 24: North America Open Qualifier 1. The four banned players are:

  • Mkid 影
  • Pcyscho
  • Lanzarote
  • Heaven_1 (also known as Kohxi/Kohol)

Who are the banned players?

Although the four banned players participated in the North American qualifier, they are, in fact, Eastern European players who competed remotely. According to Liquipedia, Mkid played from Kyrgyzstan, Pcyscho competed from Russia, while Lanzarote and Heaven_1 (Igor Mykhailishuk) participated from Ukraine.

The players formed a stack named "unknown" during the DreamLeague Season 24 NA Open Qualifier 1, which took place in September last year. The team barely advanced to the Closed Qualifier, where they won one series by default but ultimately fell to Apex Genesis (now Wildcard Gaming). Evidence collected by PGL revealed their involvement in match-fixing activities during the initial Open Qualifier.

Interestingly, these players also recently competed in the DreamLeague Season 25 North America qualifier, held in the second week of January this year. Their continued presence in the competitive circuit is now halted after the recent announcement of their bans.

Another ban wave for the North American scene

This announcement adds to a growing list of scandals plaguing the North American Dota 2 scene, which has increasingly been associated with match-fixing controversies. Recently, five players also were banned for similar offenses, namely —Cloud (KK), Muhammad “high_shaggy” Ghaznavi (Saadman01), Sonic, ValOdbka, and Dmytro (Logan)—. 

With many professional players migrating to more competitive regions and organisations pulling out of North America, the lack of genuine competition has created a breeding ground for issues like match-fixing and win trading. If these problems remain unaddressed, the North American region risks losing its place on the global stage entirely.

For now, PGL’s decisive action serves as a strong reminder to players that match-fixing will not be tolerated in the competitive scene.

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