Lu “Somnus” Yao and his Dota 2 team, Azure Ray, have found themselves at the center of controversy after allegedly abusing a bug during their recent series versus nouns at the Bali Major.
Admin investigations revealed today that Azure Ray was found guilty of exploiting the Watcher bug after Valve ruled any team who abused it would receive a penalty.
The bug was brought to Valve’s attention on July 2. Despite being used in the earlier stages of the Bali Major, Valve decided that taking advantage of the exploit any further would result in consequences. Bleed Esports, 9Pandas, PSG.LGD, Quest Esports, nouns, Azure Ray, Gaimin Gladiators, and BetBoom Team were all notified of the situation.
Related: The weird Dota 2 item choices that are seeing BetBoom shine at the Bali Major
These eight teams were expected to refrain from using the Watcher exploit, but Azure Ray must have missed the memo after using the bug versus nouns. As a result, Azure Ray’s game two win versus nouns was scrapped off, and the series ended in a tie.
The Watcher bug allows teams to check whether they’re captured by simply pinging on them. This method works even when the Watchers are hidden by the fog. While it may sound trivial, the bug serves as an additional information source that gives away the potential positioning of enemy players.
After receiving the penalty, Azure Ray found themselves in a tiebreaker situation versus Bleed Esports. The winner of this tiebreaker series will advance to the playoff stage through the lower bracket, while the loser will take an early exit from the Bali Major.
Update: Following the initial ruling, IO Esports and Epulze conducted further research regarding the matter, revealing that the evidence used against Azure Ray was inconclusive.
