Former Dota 2 pro Taiga issued lifetime ban by Esports Integrity Commission

Disgraced former Dota 2 professional player Tommy “Taiga” Le has been banned for life by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC). An accomplished Dota player, Taiga was once part of marquee organizations like Alliance, Team Liquid, and most famously, OG.

Referring to the statement as a “final charge and sanction”, the ESIC posted the declaration on their official website earlier today, citing Taiga’s past history regarding gambling-related offenses and failure to cooperate with the governing body’s investigation.

ESIC’s jurisdiction

For those unaware, the ESIC is an independent esports governing body based in the United Kingdom that enforces rules and regulations to preserve competitive integrity for certain clients. Most notably in Dota 2, the ESIC works with both ESL and BLAST to ensure fair play, which includes illegal gambling and matchfixing.

ESIC has issued a Final Notice of Charge and Sanction Determination to professional Dota 2 player Tommy “Taiga” Le under the ESIC Integrity Program.

A lifetime period of ineligibility has been imposed, effective immediately.

Read more: https://t.co/gUmn3MZLL4 pic.twitter.com/mB01srxpI9

— ESIC (@ESIC_Official) April 23, 2026

According to the ESIC statement, it took a long time for them to conclude their investigation into Taiga’s gambling activity, as the investigators were concerned about his “welfare and state of mind”. This prompted them to postpone the conclusion of the inquiry, until such time that it was “appropriate and necessary” to close the book on the case.

They went on to mention that their ruling was based on evidence of Taiga’s “betting-related misconduct, misuse of insider information, failure to report corrupt approaches, and failure to cooperate with the investigation”. That last point is especially damning, as refusing to cooperate would have only served to make Taiga look worse in this case.

At any rate, the ESIC has put a lifetime ban on Taiga from participating in “any ESIC member event, competition, or sanctioned activity” — which in Dota 2 terms means that he cannot play at ESL or BLAST events in an official capacity.

No winners in gambling

Taiga struggled with gambling addiction late in his Dota 2 career, as he himself confessed in an interview with Norwegian media outlet VG in November 2023. OG co-owner Sébastien “Ceb” Debs followed up on Taiga’s revelation in March 2024 when he was interviewed by reporter Morf-designer, which was when rumors of Taiga fixing games first started to surface.

OG suspended him and conducted an internal investigation into the matter, but found insufficient evidence. The organization decided to bench him regardless, as what had transpired damaged the team’s morale and their confidence.

Official OG statement regarding new evidence on Taiga's actions. pic.twitter.com/zVwTVzBcQX

— OG Esports (@OGesports) April 5, 2024

Just a week later, Morf-designer released a video with evidence of Taiga’s wrongdoing, sent to him by pro player Alexander “Sensibility” Filatov. Sensibility himself stated that Taiga fed him insider information, making them partners in crime during Taiga’s stint with OG. Taiga countered by saying that Sensibility was blackmailing him, which caused Taiga to stop cooperating in their schemes. Sensibility responded by claiming that Taiga had not actually stopped and was still fixing games, but with someone else assisting him instead.

Another internal investigation by OG after the video was posted eventually proved that the allegations were real and true, with new evidence exposing Taiga’s actions. OG stated that they “immediately raised concerns to ESL, PGL, and Valve” in 2023, but reiterated that their investigation that year did not yield much proof. The organization condemned Taiga’s behavior in the same statement above.

Taiga officially retired from competitive play on April 9th, 2025 — though his career was already effectively over before that as a result of his actions. He denied most of the accusations regarding him losing games on purpose, but admitted to leaking confidential information on things like in-game strategy and scrims. He also rejected claims of having colluded with Sensibility, and went on to state that all of his actions were done under duress.