Valve steps in to ban Kuku from Chongqing Major

gabhernandez Published 06/12/2018

Valve released their much anticipated decision regarding the Chongqing Major racism drama that has stirred up within the Dota 2 community.

Recently, TNC shed new light regarding Carlo “Kuku” Palad’s alleged ban from the event. The SEA organization received sympathy from the Dota 2 community and from some Dota 2 personalities for the seemingly unfair terms imposed on TNC by tournament organizers in China.

In a Twitter post, TNC outlined the consequences should Kuku decide to attend the tournament. Dota 2 personalities such as Grant “GranDGranT” Harris, David “GoDz” Parker, Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg, Vitalii Nikolaevich “v1lat” Volochai, and Paul “Redeye” Chaloner pledged not to attend the Major if the ban persisted.

Valve then clarified in their own recent statement that Kuku was not banned by the Chinese government. The developer also explained that they are stepping in directly because TNC mishandled the situation on multiple occasions.

“To be clear, TNC is not the victim in this case. It is not okay to cover up the situation, avoid any real sense of responsibility and then deflect it onto the community,” Valve posted.

As a penalty, Valve has banned Kuku from Chongqing Major and will dock 20% from TNC’s current Dota Pro Circuit points. This means that TNC will have a stand-in for Chongqing Major and Kuku can return for the next DPC tournaments.

With the saga having finally concluded, more questions were raised that went unaddressed by Valve. How truthful is Matthew “Cyborgmatt” Bailey’s original Twitter post confirming the ban from the event? How reliable was SLTV’s information about the consequences if Kuku attended the event? And why haven’t Chongqing Major organizers haven’t released a statement on the situation?

The Dota 2 community has been on a roller coaster ride in the past few days, but Valve’s statement will likely be the last chapter regarding Kuku’s role in this drama.

Read Also

Dota 2

ESIC hand down ruling in EWC Dota match-fixing case: Lifetime ban for coach as DarkMago gets a nickel Michael Hassall South American Dota 2 player Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera will be banned for five years from competitive Dota 2, with his coach Juan "Vintage" Angulo banned permanently, following the results of an The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) investigation. ESIC handed down the findings and rulings from its investigation into match-fixing allegations leveled at members of South American Dota 2 team PlayTime during the Esports World Cup on Sep. 10, in a ...

News

Polystrike Turns a Dota 2 Mod Into a Standalone Tactical Shooter Hannan Mundia After the community-made mod found success within the community, developer and publisher Robin Entertainment has decided to turn Polystrike into a proper standalone game. Community-made mods of games finding success within the respective game’s community is nothing new. However, only a handful of those mods are able to go on and become a standalone game. One of the more recent examples is The Forgotten City, which started as a mod ...

Dota 2

Team Spirit wins TI15 to lift a record third Aegis of Champions Michael Hassall Team Spirit has defeated TEAM VISION in the grand finals of TI15, The International 2025. In a full five-game series on Aug. 23, Spirit pulled out all the stops and narrowly defeated an incredible VISION team in a back-and-forth series in Shanghai, China. With Spirit’s victory, Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov become the first ever three-time TI champions, and Team Spirit becomes the first ever organization to lift ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 (TI15) Finals Preview and Predictions Michael Hassall The International 2026, TI15, has reached its final day, and just three teams remain in the fight for the Aegis of Champions. With the lower bracket final and Grand Final still to come, everything comes down to one final day of Dota 2 action. The lower bracket finalists will first battle for the right to reach the main event’s final series, while the winner will advance to face the upper-bracket ...

Dota 2

TI15’s opening ceremony weaves a tapestry of emotion for Valve’s storied title Michael Hassall The main stage of The International 2026, TI15, kicked off today with the traditional opening ceremony heralding the start of the biggest celebration of Dota 2 on the calendar. On Aug. 20 fans in Shanghai, China, and at home, were treated to a rousing 11-minute series of performances and video packages, introducing TI15’s main stage show. Here’s how the magic unfolded: The ceremony began with a graphic which quite literally ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 (TI15) Playoffs preview and predictions Michael Hassall The Group Stage of The International 2026, TI15, is in the books and we’ve whittled down 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams to just eight finalists. One of these talented lineups will be the ones lifting the Aegis of Champions come Sunday, Aug. 23, but until then, there’s plenty of playoff shenanigans that could go on. Below we’ve put together a preview of the upcoming Playoff Games, along ...

News

The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027 Ben Boland The 2026 Esports Nations Cup has been suspended until 2027. The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, citing ongoing regional uncertainty. The inaugural competition was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, comprising over 100 national teams and featuring 16 different games, including League of Legends. According to the Esports Foundation, this decision follows ongoing developments in the region and consultation with key stakeholders. Moving the event ...