Menneenä viikonloppuna Virtus.pro:n pelaaja Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko jäi kiinni piirtämästä Venäjän hyökkäystä Ukrainaan tukevaa symbolia Dota 2:ssa. Yahoon mukaan Moskalenko piirsi Z-kirjaimen pelin karttaan. Kyseinen kirjain on viime kuukausina merkinnyt tukea Venäjän täysimittaiselle sodalle Ukrainassa.
Ottelussa vastakkain olivat Virtus.pro:n Outsiders-joukkue ja Mind Games, jossa pelaa kaksi ukrainalaista. Ottelu keskeytyi, kun Moskalenko ryhtyi luovaksi. Hänen joukkuetoverinsa koettivat peittää jälkiä, mutta eihän siitä mitään tullut. Moskalenkon itsensä mukaan piirtämisen tulos oli vahinko.
"There was a long pause in the game, the guys and I were talking and drawing on the minimap. When we realized what exactly my drawing turned out to be, we tried to cover it up. I didn't mean to offend anyone, it all happened by accident. Peace to all."
Mind Games julistettiin ottelun voittajaksi, ja Outsiders sai monoa koko turnauksesta. Virtus.pro kokee ratkaisun kohtuuttomaksi julkaisemassaan lausunnossa.
"Right after the incident with Pure during game 1 we contacted Valve and the tournament organizer while conducting our own investigation. Sergey Glamazda, CEO of Virtus.pro, personally talked to the players between the games to find out more about what happened. Pure publicly explained himself right after the game. BTS also contacted other players of our team to hear their side of the story. We were notified that the final decision was up to the publisher.
The severity of the punishment is shocking. Valve has a certain history of imposing disciplinary measures, but disqualifying the whole team from a DPC tournament based on a drawing on a minimap by single player sets up a whole new precedent.
Any actions have consequences, whether intentional or not. Virtus.pro has been consistently opposing any cases of inciting hatred in esports. The club terminates contract with Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko for his diminishing actions that led to disqualification from the tournament and caused a great deal of harm to our relationship with the worldwide esports society."