BetBoom Team has gotten into trouble again and this time, it’s at the ESL One Birmingham 2024. The team is one that often garners attention for disciplinary issues, so the Eastern European powerhouse always have plenty of eyes on themselves.
Vitalie “Save-” Melnic (Image credit: BetBoom)
During the ESL One Birmingham 2024, BetBoom Team was issued a draft penalty. The penalty was because of Vitalie “Save-” Melnic’s abuse of a known bug involving the support hero, Shadow Demon in a match against G2.iG.
This particular bug emerged following the Crownfall Update, allowing the abuser to maximize Shadow Demon’s ultimate with an Aghanim’s Shard upon purchasing the item. Notably, Save- was at level 12 during the match, yet his ultimate was already maximized.
Shadow Demon’s maxed ultimate at Level 12 (Image credit: Dota 2)
This misuse of the bug suggests a deliberate attempt to gain an advantage over the opponent, as he did not upgrade his ultimate at levels 12 or 18, a common practice among players. Ironically, BetBoom did not win this match even with the bug abuse.
Save-‘s Shadow Demon Skill Build (Image credit: DOTABUFF)
This incident marks the third time BetBoom Team has violated tournament rule at a major tournament. The first incident was when Save- was fined $200 for arriving late to a team event. While this incident is minor, it highlighted the team’s emphasis on professional and strict management by fining Save-.
A more severe breach occurred when Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko, a former BetBoom player, watched a live stream during a game pause at the Bali Major 2023. This action led to a default loss against Tundra Esports and went on to spark the infamous beef between BetBoom and Azure Ray.
In competitive Dota 2 tournaments, where exploitation of bugs can occasionally run rampant and take time to remove. Both tournament organizers and pro teams have the obligation to not abuse bugs to gain certain advantage in a game. One good example is when Azure Ray at the same tournament, was accused of abusing the “Watcher Bug.” They were eventually cleared of the allegations after a thorough investigation.
Hence, Save-‘s decision to abuse such a blatant bug shows the lack of integrity in his judgement. Especially for one of the best Dota 2 teams at ESL One Birmingham 2024 at the moment. Let’s hope that such incidents set an example not just for BetBoom, but every pro team to not abuse bugs.
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