Toxic Christmas gifts for toxic players: Valve targets Dota 2 cheaters

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Valve is handing out special gifts to Dota 2 players this Christmas. One notorious streamer can hardly believe his luck

Christmas is also coming to the world of Dota 2 and Valve has acted as a digital Santa Claus to give players special gifts.

While some players got to enjoy new skins, others received the infamous Toxic Piece of Coal, which means nothing less than a permanent ban in Dota 2 

Cheaters get a special gift

This drastic measure follows Valve’s recent announcement that smurfing – the creation of secondary accounts by experienced players to compete against weaker opponents – will be severely punished.

But other forms of cheating are also severely punished: The most prominent example is probably the former professional player and well-known Dota 2 streamer Mason Venne, who was previously active with the US team Evil Geniuses, among others. His greatest success is probably his third place at Valve’s major Dota tournament The International in 2014

The streamer is considered extremely toxic and is known for his outbursts of rage, which has caused his in-game behavior rating to plummet. As a result, he was only able to play with other toxic players and could no longer use certain functions, such as voice chat.

In order to raise his rating again, he bought positive reviews – which is of course forbidden according to Valve’s rules and resulted in his ban by the lump of coal. You can watch his ban and his surprised reaction to it here:

After Mason realized he would probably never be allowed to play the game he has lived for 13 years ( followed by tears and a profuse apology). But despite his apology and desire to mend his ways, Mason found little support in the community:

  • Damn, I thought that was hilarious. A toxic lump of coal. But after seeing his reaction, this is even funnier.
  • People only repent when they get caught.
  • Well deserved! Just for the amount of messages he got from other players, opponents or teammates!
  • You broke the rules and you’re paying the price. I have no sympathy for people who cheat in multiplayer games like this. Especially if they are streamers.

Your opinion is needed: Are permanent bans the right solution in the fight against smurfing and unfair practices in Dota 2? Should (ex-)pros also be banned relentlessly or do they deserve special treatment because their livelihood depends on Dota 2? Let us know your opinion in the comments section!