Lower Division European Dota Pro Circuit team Meta4Pro has withdrawn from DreamLeague Season 14 following an internal match-fixing investigation. The news was revealed on DreamHack’s official website on February 16.
Meta4Pro has withdrawn from DPC after a match-fixing investigation (Image via ESL)
According to the post, the team reached out to ESL Gaming earlier in the week. Meta4Pro informed ESL Gaming that they suspected one of their players was involved in match-fixing. Then, following an internal investigation, Meta4Pro decided to withdraw from the DPC.
ESL Gaming confirmed that they would also be carrying out an investigation along with ESIC. Dota 2 developer, and arbitrator for DPC issues, Valve, have been contacted. As a result of Meta4Pro’s withdrawal, the team forfeited all its remaining games. ESL Gaming confirmed that no format changes would follow the withdrawal.
Meta4Pro’s team manager Igor “INGVARD” Zverev commented in a post on social media site VK. “Meta4Pro is leaving DreamLeague DPC S14 EU, Lower Division, this decision was made after the last two meetings with the Hippomaniacs and burjui teams.”
“We have reason to believe that some players were not playing fair and may have been involved in 322 stories. We do not want to name specific names and nicknames now, as there is no 100% confirmation from the commission that this is really the case.”
“The work to identify the violation is being carried out and will be completed. Also, some players categorically refused to continue playing in this squad because of the same suspicions in some players.”
With their forfeiture from the league, Meta4Pro’s record now stands at 0-7 with an individual game score of 0-14. Their standing prior to this was 0-5 with a 2-10 score. Since the team was already at the bottom of the standings, in theory, this shouldn’t have affected the standings.
However, if you’re Hellbear Smashers or Spider Pigzs fan, who’ve seen their primary rivals for the top spot, Creepwave and Brame, rocket into a more commanding lead, you may not feel the same. The forfeiture may yet affect final standings, with individual match scores potentially changing the top four spots in the division.
Hellbear Smashers, in particular, may feel the withdrawal of Meta4Pro has affected their chances at reaching an Upper Division spot.
