ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023: several suspicious incidents occurred at the tournament

ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 has become the first major Dota 2 tournament after The International 2023. In the group stage, 12 teams are competing for a prize pool of 1 million dollars.

Surprises came not only from the team rosters, significantly changed after Valve's decision to cancel the DPC, but also from the matches themselves, surprising viewers and Dota 2 analysts with unexpected turns. By the time of this publication, three matches involving Team Falcons, 9 Pandas и Tundra Esports turned out to be particularly unusual.

Unexpected defeat for Team Falcons

Following the impressive victories of Team Falcons against Team Liquid and LGD Gaming, this team was already considered a favorite to win ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023. However, in a match against the tournament's underdog, 9 Pandas, the Malr1ne lineup unexpectedly lost a map with a 16,000 gold advantage.

Commentator Vladimir "Maelstorm" Kuzminov even called what he saw at the tournament a "prank that got out of control," posting a corresponding post on his Telegram. The match itself ended in a draw.

Tundra Esports Insane Throne Attack

Equally strange was the match between Tundra Esports and LGD Gaming when the former TSM lineup had a decent advantage and a chance to win. However, they initiated a suicidal attack on LGD Gaming throne. As a result, all heroes from Tundra Esports were sent to the fountain, and LGD Gaming won the map.

Maelstorm was also shocked by what happened, as no one expected such an outcome, considering LGD Gaming as tournament underdogs who might be among the first to be eliminated from ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.

"Tundra killed themselves on LGD's throne and lost... what's going on at this tournament?"

Unexplainable Behavior from 9 Pandas and Team Punishment

Another unusual episode occurred during the match between Team Falcons and 9 Pandas. The RAMZES666 team unexpectedly decided to use a pause not for its intended purpose. During the game stop, V-tune went somewhere, so the team was penalized with bonus time on the second map.

Kuzminov joked that 9 Pandas behavior is already resembling a joke, hinting that during the pause, V-tune went off to change the coals.

"9Pandas penalized with bonus time on the second map for V-tune going somewhere during the pause on the first map... this team is a meme. Officially penalized for 'misuse of pause.' And I said, with Rodjer, it would have been better; he knows how to change coals without a pause"

The team itself has not yet commented on this ambiguous situation or the reasons for stopping such a crucial match for them.