WESG confirms Chinese government ban of Dota player Kuku

gabhernandez Published 12/02/2019

Implications continue to unfurl following TNC Predator captain Carlo “Kuku” Palad’s involvement in a racial controversy last year.

Kuku is in the middle of another career shakeup following his use of a racial slur in a public Dota 2 game. The slur and the ensuing controversy resulted in a ban from the Chongqing Major.

Kuku took a break from the professional scene following the scandal. After the Chongqing Major, he returned to play with TNC in the following Dota Pro Circuit major and minor qualifiers.

TNC showed underwhelming results and failed to qualify for either DreamLeague Season 11 or the StarLadder ImbaTV event. And this was not the end in what has become a series of setbacks for the organization.

Recently, tournament organizer WESG released a statement detailing that Kuku will not be allowed to enter Chongqing City to participate in the WESG tournament. This is the result of a request by the city’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security.

The tournament organizers emphasized that this is a final decision, as they are expected to comply with the instructions of the local government.

Valve was quick to attempt an explanation following the initial allegations of a government ban. The develop claimed there was no official player ban communicated by the Chinese government. WESG’s explanation runs counter to that, causing fans to question whether Valve was telling the truth in their attempted explanation.

WESG is not a DPC tournament.

Fans have raised concerns following this announcement, particularly given that the next edition of The International is set to be held in China. The government’s involvement could establish a dangerous precedent for the esports community as a whole.

TNC did not release a statement regarding this latest issue, but the team did change their social media profile to include a picture of a broken phoenix.

Read Also

Dota 2

Yandex to repeat?: BLAST SLAM VIII preview, predictions, and more Michael Hassall If you can believe it, we’re already on the eighth edition of BLAST SLAM, as BLAST SLAM VIII kicks off tomorrow (Sep. 29) pitting 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams against each other in what promises to be the first big challenge of this young season. Let’s face it: At PGL Wallachia, we were missing a lot of the heavy hitters. No TI15 champs, no PARIVISION, not BetBoom, ...

Dota 2

Unstoppable Yandex crush NAVI in one-sided PGL Wallachia finals Michael Hassall Team Yandex has swept the grand finals of the PGL Wallachia Season 9 Dota 2 tournament, defeating Natus Vincere (NAVI) in a 3-0 drubbing this past weekend (Sep. 27). As predicted, the revitalized Yandex, hot off the signing of former Team Falcons star Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf, crushed their youthful opponents in a three-game sweep in the best-of-five finals. Here’s how it happened: After upsetting the star-studded LGD Gaming roster (albeit ...

Dota 2

Team Yandex to win it all? PGL Wallachia Season 9 Finals preview and predictions Michael Hassall The first big event after TI15, PGL Wallachia Season 9, wraps up this Sunday, Sep. 27, and it’s set to be a hell of a show. After a solid week of action, with some surprise eliminations along the way, we’re down to just three teams from the original 16. Team Yandex, LGD Gaming, and Natus Vincere (NAVI) remain, having battled through some big upsets to get there. Yandex are hot ...

Dota 2

MidOne to Play for Team Liquid at BLAST Slam 8, Replacing Nisha: Permanent or Stand-in? Owen Harsono Like most other Dota 2 teams, Team Liquid have also undergone roster changes after The International 2026, replacing Ace for Wisper. However, a swap in offlaners wasn’t the end, as veteran mid-laner MidOne has been registered under the team ahead of BLAST Slam 8, taking Nisha’s spot. Is MidOne only acting as a stand-in, or is this going to be a permanent move? Here’s what we know. On September 25, ...

Dota 2

PGL Wallachia Season 9 Playoffs preview and predictions Michael Hassall PGL Wallachia Season 9 is the first major tournament since the 2025/2026 Dota 2 season came to its conclusion at TI15, and with the roster shuffle still, well, shuffling, and top teams skipping the event while they get things finalized, it’s been an unusual tournament so far. With some surprising names in the playoffs (especially if you’ve been following the scene for the rest of the year) and the absence ...

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 ...