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Russian player Ivan ‘Pure’ Moskalenko left the Virtus.pro Dota 2 team roster recently, the organisation announced on social media.
The club decided to say goodbye to the esports player after the incident that occurred in the match against Mind Games as part of the Dota Pro Circuit 2021/2022 playoffs for the CIS region.
The incident with Moskalenko occurred on April 29th 2022 that has now been well-documented: during a pause in the match against Mind Games, he drew the letter Z on the map (a symbol some have used to mark support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine).
Then, Pure himself and other VP players tried to paint over the symbol, but this did not go unnoticed by the community. After the match, Moskalenko apologised to the audience and stated that he drew the letter unconsciously. Tournament operator Beyond The Summit turned to Valve for advice on the incident, after which the company decided to remove the entire Virtus.pro team from further participation in the tournament.
Bear in mind, the team were playing as ‘Outsiders’ and not officially under the Virtus.pro name, due to sanctions esports tournament organisers have had towards some Russian esports teams.
Virtus.pro said in a statement: “Immediately after the incident with Pure in the first game, we contacted the Valve Corporation and the tournament operator to launch an internal investigation. During the pause between the games, chief executive officer Sergei Glamazda talked to the players and found out all the details of what had happened. After the match, Pure explained the situation publicly.
“We are surprised by the severity of punishment from Valve. Knowing the corporation’s approach to disciplinary measures in various situations from the past, the decision to disqualify the whole team from the DPC tournament for the misconduct of one player is a real precedent.
“All actions have consequences, whether they were intentional or not. Virtus.pro has been against violence and hatred in esports throughout its history. Our club terminates the contract with Ivan ‘Pure’ Moskalenko for actions unworthy of a professional player, which led to the disqualification of the team from the tournament and caused enormous harm to the club’s relations with the international esports community.
“We will inform you about further changes in the team roster and our plans in the discipline separately.”
Pure added: “I didn’t mean to offend anyone, it all happened by accident. Peace to all.”
This is an example of how a foolish act can ruin a person’s career and suddenly change the outcome of a match. Fans who bet on the victory of Mind Games at https://gg.bet/de/dota2 got the automatic win and received their winnings.
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