Plasma handed DQ loss after outburst in Dota Summit 13
Dota Summit 13’s group stage for the Americas region is facing an unfortunate change of plans.
North American squad Plasma1337x has been handed a disqualification loss for its upcoming match against beastcoast. This stems from a series of seemingly racially charged posts on the team’s Twitter account.
Dota is a global game full of players from diverse backgrounds. We do not tolerate such conduct, especially in direct relation to our tournaments.
As a consequence, Plasma will be suspended for their series today and Beastcoast will receive a default win for the series. (2/2) — Beyond the Summit (@BeyondTheSummit) October 26, 2020
Ahead of the match, Plasma1337x went after beastcoast in a since-deleted tweet and accused the organization of using “cheap South American labor.” Negative responses poured in, which prompted the account to issue a series of defensive statements and attempts at clarification. This did little to assuage criticism of the initial tweet.
While some of the tweets were a discussion on the state of the North American Dota 2 scene, it spiraled into problematic territory after a point. When pressed on complaints over a lack of sponsorship, Plasma1337x accused others of playing the victim and stated that Uber looks to the Philippines for cheaper labor.
The Plasma1337x Twitter account was deleted not long after.
Plasma1337x’s criticism of beastcoast makes little sense
North American Dota 2 teams are in an unfortunate position, and Plasma1337x is no different. North American esports organizations, even those with extended histories in Dota 2, have left the game en masse. This has forced teams to live on prize money, something that hasn’t really worked out with no majors being held and The International 10 being indefinitely postponed.
Pinning any of those issues on beastcoast and implying that the organization is preying upon players from underdeveloped countries is likely bogus. The barren sponsorship situation for Dota 2 pros in North America stems from a variety of factors, with the relative affordability of competent South American teams being of relatively minimal impact.
What’s more, the current beastcoast roster was destined for a sponsorship. The team placed in the top eight at The International 2019, and managed the same at the first two majors of the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit season. There is no reason to think that the Peruvian squad couldn’t effectively leverage those accomplishments when negotiating with sponsoring organizations.
On top of that, the exodus of North American sponsors is a relatively new phenomenon. During the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit season, there were five sponsored North American Dota 2 teams. This included Evil Geniuses, CR4ZY, Cloud9, J.Storm, and Chaos Esports Club. Boiled down, Plasma1337x’s criticism of beastcoast is essentially criticizing them for not leaving Dota 2 as Chaos or Cloud9 have, and not ceasing operations like J.Storm.
If sponsors were to return to North American Dota 2, Plasma1337x would be quite low on the totem pole of sponsorless teams. Quincy Crew, 4 Zoomers, and the former CR4ZY roster all rank ahead of them, and don’t have any problematic social media outbursts dragging down their reputations.
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
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