Peruvian Dota 2 Player Opens Up About Matchfixing Scandal
In a recent Reddit post, Bryan Freddy “SmAsH” Machaca Siña, one of Peru’s top Dota 2 players, shared his story of falling from grace in a matchfixing scandal. He wrote an open letter to Valve and the Dota 2 community, marking the two year anniversary of his permanent ban from Valve-sanctioned tournaments.
The Struggles of a Professional Player in Peru
SmAsH described the challenges he faced when he first started his career, including economic difficulties and lack of support in Peru’s esports scene. Despite these obstacles, SmAsH is recognized as one of the most talented Dota 2 players in Peru and holds the second spot on the American ranked matchmaking leaderboard.
A Matchfixing Scandal Ends Promising Careers
However, SmAsH’s career took a dark turn when he and his teammates on Elite Wolves were involved in a matchfixing scandal. As a result, all three players were indefinitely banned from participating in Valve events, similar to the iBUYPOWER Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squad in 2014. Other Dota 2 players, including Jacko Soriano and Kok Yi “ddz” Liong, also faced bans for matchfixing.
Living in Deplorable Conditions Led to Desperation
SmAsH detailed the poor living conditions and exploitation he and his teammates endured while playing for different teams. They were even scammed by the owner of a Peruvian team called Not Today. With limited income and desperation, they made the unfortunate decision to fix a match against Infamous in the ProDota Cup.
Despite sharing his story, it is unlikely that SmAsH’s ban will be lifted by Valve. The Dota 2 community, while sympathetic, understands the severity of matchfixing and the consequences it brings. Valve has a strict policy against matchfixing and has not lifted any indefinite bans since the scandal involving Virtus Pro’s Alexei “Solo” Berezin.
Only time will tell if SmAsH will join the short list of pardoned players by Valve.
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