China DPC Circuit 2023: Knights accused of using hacks in league matches

According to reports, the Chinese Dota 2 team Knights used vision hacks in the first three games of the China Dota Pro Circuit 2023 season.

With the start of the DPC CN 2023 Tour 1: Division I, the Chinese region has once more found itself at the center of controversy. The first three games of CN DPC allegedly saw the use of vision hacks by the Chinese Dota 2 team Knights. The organizers of the DPC’s Chinese regional league, Perfect World Esports, said on their official Weibo account that they have already provided proof of the Knights’ alleged use of the hacks to Dota 2 creator Valve.

If Valve ruled them guilty, Knights and each of its players would probably face a ban from Valve and the Dota 2 tournament it sponsors, similar to the punishment meted out to former Virtus.pro player Koma. The newly formed Knights are currently in second place in the standings after two unexpected victories against elite opponents like PSG. Invictus Gaming and LGD.

How the freshly formed team came to be on the brink of a permanent suspension?

Although Perfect World withheld its findings from the public, many people in the Chinese community suspected something was fishy during the Knights’ first three games. JieChuGe, a Chinese caster, was the first to discover that Knights were behaving suspiciously. JieChuGe speculated that Knights might be employing a vision hack similar to Slark’s ultimate. With the hacks on, the Knights’ hero avatars flash white when they are in the range of an enemy’s sight. 

Furthermore, according to the caster, Knights have made a number of decisions that are cause for concern, such as determining where to de-ward the enemy jungle, smoking without de-warding, and playing the match with unusual pings. With reference to the fact that they de-warded 12.57 wards per game in the opening three matches—three to four more than any other team—the caster claimed that there is a 90% chance that Knights were using the hacks.

A team that uses vision hacks has a highly unfair advantage over the opponents as the hack allows the team to set up ganks on enemy heroes, read the enemy team’s moves to prevent ganks, and position themselves strategically before the start of team fights or base sieges. As a result, the Knights were able to deward 43 observers altogether throughout its shocking victories over PSG. Invictus Gaming and LGD. Whether one or all of the players were engaged, though, is still unclear.

Knights Dota 2 team roster 

• Luo “eGo” Bin
• Vincent “AlaCrity” Hiew
• Su “Flyby” Lei
• Chong “FelixCiaoBa” Wei Lun
• Xiao “XCJ” Chaojian.

Header: OG/Valve