Valve clears Ewolves and Infamous of match-fixing ProDota Cup Americas series

Valve has cleared both Ewolves and Infamous of match-fixing during the ProDota Cup Americas. Valve has run an extensive investigation, at the request of Sam “Sammy” Manuelson, the ProDota Cup owner. The alleged match-fixing took place on February 21st, during the third place decider series between the two South American teams.

The scandal erupted on February 21st, after Infamous – the underdogs of the series – convincingly grabbed the series from the heavily favored Ewolves. Despite Ewolves’ performance in the cup not being as strong as in previous tournaments, the loss caught the eye of casters and viewers alike, when the odds and betting practices took an abnormal, suspicious swing. Game play had also looked dubious during the match.

Infamous won the series in a decisive sweep, 2:0, along with the $500 prize.

Sam “Sammy” Manuelson – owner of the ProDota Cup – ran an investigation of his own and requested that Valve complete a second level of review and investigation.

Valve have had issues with match-fixing in both the CS:GO scene and the Dota 2 one, in the last few years. They have a process in place which allows them to investigate further than tournament organizers are able to, including having access to IP addresses and various account information. Valve have been fully cooperative with ProDota Cup and have gathered all necessary pieces of evidence.

Upon completing their investigation, Valve have reported to Manuelson that there was no evidence to support match-fixing practices and that they would not be issuing any restrictions or bans on the teams or players in question.

Valve have completed their review of the situation and have concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to indicate that any of the teams or players were involved in match-fixing. While the game play and some of the supporting documentation of bet suggestions are questionable, the investigation did not identify any cheating practices. Both Ewolves and Infamous will receive invites to the ProDota Cup 4 Americas, and Infamous will be paid their $500 winnings.

– Sam Manuelson (owner of ProDota Cup)

Some organizations, such as Flipsid3 Tactics, have implemented strict no gambling policies for all staff and players. Those policies have been put into effect after numerous bans on CS:GO teams and players, as a way to mitigate any questions or suspicions that could ultimately impact or affect the organizations.

Infamous vs. Ewolves match-fixing scandal

After the Ifamous vs. Ewolves series, Sam “sammy” Manuelson was made aware of match-fixing suspicions. During a conference with the teams’ managers and players, Infamous manager Vitoria “Guashineen” Otero confirmed that player Jesus “Ztok” Carhuaricra had indeed suggested to a friend to place a bet on the team. Otero refused to cooperate further.

In conjunction with betting site organizers to investigate the matter, Manuelson was able to confirm that the first 10 kills of the series were fixed, based on betting patterns and odds. It was also evident that one account made more than $5,000 off multiple bets placed on this series and multiple other accounts placed suspicious bets on both VPGame and Dota2Top.

According to Manuelson, there has also been proof of Ztok suggesting to a friend to place a 100% secure bet on his team. Ztok would have allegedly received a percentage of the winnings.

image provided by Sam “sammy” Manuelson

Manuelson had confirmed at that time to DotaBlast that he would withhold the third place award of $500 from Infamous and that both teams would be banned from the next ProDota Cup season. Now that Valve have completed their investigation and cleared both teams of match-fixing suspicions, Infamous and Ewolves will receive invites for the ProDota Cup 4 Americas, and Infamous will be paid their $500 prize.

On March 23rd, 2016, Jesus “Ztok” Carhuaricra, Ricardo “mstco” Román, and Freddy “SmAsH” Sina were officially marked ineligible for Valve events due to match-fixing. They have remained active in the Peruvian scene, providing coaching and Dota 2 MMR boosting services and playing for various teams, such as Team DileCom and Thunder Awaken.