Dendi Accused of Match Fixing in Dota 2 — Community Torn
Former B8 teammate Glib “Funn1k” Lipatnikov has accused beloved Dota 2 pro Dendi of match-fixing. On August 14, Funn1k took to Twitter to outline his allegations. In the tweet, Funn1k explained that he joined B8 after the organization helped him during the Ukrainian war but started to feel things were fishy when he was told his political comments were scaring away investors, an excuse that was later used to allegedly not pay him for his time on the team.
Funn1k started looking closer at B8 and felt that the organization may be guilty of match-fixing. He said that Dendi, Denis “StoneBank” Korzh, and Oleg “Lodine” Kvasha were performing poorly in matches and that their excuses didn’t seem believable after performing so well in ranked matches.
The decision to call out Dendi was a very controversial one. Some Dota 2 fans felt that Funn1k was wrong to call out Dendi and D8 without having any solid evidence to share. This was a common sentiment amongst fans since Dendi is so well-respected in the community.
Just prove it instead of accussing dendi he is the face of dota and I don't think you should just rant about things like this without any solid proof. You're great player and hope you get paid.
— shirshak sitaula (@ShirshakSitaula) August 14, 2023
But others felt that Dendi’s status as such a popular player isn’t enough to prove his innocence. Some called out “Dendi fanboys” for blindly trusting the player even though D8’s performances have been quite questionable in the past.
Said one fan: “I personally remember them throwing a 16K lead.”
Lol look at this dendi fanboys comments like he is pure and untouchable... it's always sus that Dendi is still a pro ... and the way b8 loses these games please some of you guys should watch the vids. I personally remeber them throwing 16k lead ... taking b2b 3v5 rosh fights
— vidhu🔥 (@vidhuuuuu9999) August 15, 2023
Over on Reddit, Dota 2 fans questioned how D8 was still around in general when the team has performed so poorly. While one Dota 2 viewer noted that Dendi is “already set” and the team can survive off of playing in smaller tournaments, another felt that it was a bit sus that B8 has an investor despite doing “shitty” for the past 3.5 years, not even qualifying for a single LAN event.
Dendi vs. Funn1k: Who to Believe?
Right now, it’s difficult to know which side is more credible. A lot of evidence is still needed to truly condemn Dendi for match-fixing but it wouldn’t be unheard of.
Match fixing is unfortunately prominent in esports, including major titles like Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Chinese team Knights was accused of match-fixing in the Lima Major 2023, something the team was accused of doing in the past. Despite starting a game with a heavy lead, the Knights ended up surprisingly losing to underdogs Geek Slate. Fans noticed that betting sites all had concerning odds for that match and a few others, including heavily favoring Geek Slate to win despite their underdog status.
In April of 2023, a Russian journalist took to YouTube to expose a match-fixing group that was hidden within the Dota 2 Pro Circuit, with North America and Eastern Europe both having rigged matches.
The reporter included information about a Discord server known as The Red Book where all the match-fixing took place.
Valve banned over 40 pro Dota 2 players from China and Southeast Asia, including the removal of five teams from the Dota 2 Pro Circuit, after match-fixing allegations arose during the Winter Tour. This included the Knights as well as many other prominent figures in the scene.
While match-fixing is definitely nothing new in the Dota 2 scene, the community is still unsure of Dendi is guilty of this illegal activity. The continued poor performance of his organization has definitely made people skeptical but Funn1k is also not the most reliable source since he has complained about B8 in the past, including accusing them of being “low-level” players.
Olivia is a long-time esports journalist and editor who covers just about every game but has a deep love for the FGC. Her goal is to find community-driven stories that bring a new perspective to the esports scene. In the past, she has worked for Team Liquid, Rogue, Inven Global, Dot Esports, Upcomer, and more. Outside of esports, Olivia enjoys Kirby, Pokemon TCG, Fallout, and writing science fiction. She can be found trying out new foods, traveling, or hanging out with her two orange cats. Fun fact: Olivia can do some video game and cartoon impressions!