Azure Ray’s bug exploitation drama at the Dota 2 Bali Major

The organizer of the Dota 2 Bali Major 2023 competition, IO Esports, has officially reversed their decision over the suspected bug exploitation by the Azure Ray squad versus Nouns in the last group stage match.

The Dota 2 team Azure Ray has been cleared of charges of bug abuse during their recent group stage match against nouns at the Bali Major. Earlier, the organizers found Azure Ray guilty of exploiting the Watcher bug, reversing their 2-0 victory into a 1-1 tie, bringing them close to elimination.

Official statement regarding investigation for a match: pic.twitter.com/zkNg6W27p2

— IO Esports @ Bali Major (@ioesportsgg) July 3, 2023

However, after a comprehensive examination, the evidence regarding the suspected bug exploitation by Azure Ray was deemed to be inconclusive, according to the statement from the event’s organizer, IO Esports. Despite considerable efforts, the reported bug could not be successfully replicated, making it impossible to provide concrete evidence of bug exploitation by the team.

Azure Ray Bug Controversy Explained

The controversy began soon after a Group Stage match between the Chinese team Azure Ray and the North American nouns.  Both teams were closely tied in the second game after Azure Ray gained a 1-0 lead, but Azure Ray ultimately won the game and the match with their late-game domination to move on to a tiebreaker against Bleed Esports. However, things changed when it was alleged that the team utilized a game bug to get an edge over their opponent in the second round.

Filipe Astini, head coach of the North American team, was the one who first discovered the bug and brought the organizer’s attention to the situation. The alleged bug was linked to the use of Watchers, which allows players to learn more about the movements of the opponent team Even when the Watchers were hidden in the fog, the bug allowed players to ping them and know whether or not they had been captured Once pinged, a Shield Icon would indicate that it had been taken, whilst an Attack Command would indicate that it had not.

We would like to apologize for the tweet posted earlier, it was a mistake and we are currently still in the progress of investigating a match.

We will be updating again whenever we have any news after the investigation is done.

— IO Esports @ Bali Major (@ioesportsgg) July 3, 2023

As a result of this bug, teams could effectively gain an unfair advantage, which is exactly what the North American coach accused Azure Ray of. Responding to the situation, IO Esports reversed the Chinease team’s 2-0 victory into a 1-1 tie, which would have eliminated the team from the competition. However, the organizers soon deleted the initial announcement and apologized for their rush decision in another team, claiming that they are investigating the case.

After an extensive investigation, the series did not end in a stalemate, as was previously stated, and Azure Ray’s victory in game two over nouns was reinstated. On the final day of the group stage, the Chinease team took down Bleed Esports 2-1 in the tiebreaker to place sixth in their group and clinch their group’s final playoff qualification spot.

Header: Valve