Xiao8 accuses Avengerls of match-fixing in SL Minor match against Newbee

EHOME Dota 2 coach Zhang “Xiao8” Ning has accused Avengerls of throwing their match against Newbee during the ongoing StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 3 China Qualifier. 

In Upper Bracket Round 1, Avengerls took the first game and could have won the second if they hadn’t lost their 13,000 gold advantage. This turn of events could be due to bad luck and poor play, but Avengerls made a couple of suspicious plays during the game. The same goes for game 3, in which it looks like Avengerls intentionally dropped kills in the early moments.  

Watching the match on stream, Xiao8 stated, “If this match is not fixed, I will eat shit on stream.” That’s not a sight his fans would be interested in seeing nor one he would enjoy; however, it does show how certain he is of foul play. Fans on Reddit also share his opinion, and claims were made that it’s already a hot topic in the Chinese Dota community as well. 

Reddit user Luckb0xen shared a screenshot of an email with Pinnacle in which they’re being alerted of the suspicious activity, only for the betting site to state that the match is already under review. This could spell disaster for the players involved, as match-fixing is a practice that’s abhorred in every community.  

Match-fixing is when a player or team intentionally loses after betting against themselves so they can win vast sums. Considering Newbee eventually won the match, anyone that bet against Avengerls would have made a tidy sum depending on the odds. 

It’s currently unclear if the organizers will also launch an investigation of their own, but it’s not a stretch to say that fans will be keeping a close eye on Avengerls during their match against Keen Gaming.