Top 5 controversies in the history of esports

There are a lot of iconic moments in esports history. Players who master their games have been able to pull off some of the most insane clutches. At the same time, there have been a lot of controversies in esports that have broken the trust of many fans,

These incidents have also affected esports in the long run. From rules and policy changes, here are some of the biggest controversies in the history of esports.

The Olof boost

Olofmeister is one of the legends of CounterStrike that climbed up the leaderboard in the early CS:GO days. Along with several achievements, he was also the creator of the Olof boost, one of the most controversial moves in Counter Strike.

In a quarter-final match against LDLC during the DreamHack Winter, 2014. Olofmeister revealed a nasty boost on Overpass that led them to victory. There was a lot of back and forth regarding the boost from both teams.

The organizer decided the match to be replayed, however, Fnatic forfeited the match along withdrew from the tournament. After it was fixed, Valve even put graffiti showing no boost on the location.

Kuku’s ban from Dota 2 and Chongqing

Dota 2 also have its fair share of controversies. TNC’s KuKu was handed a permanent ban from the game after using racial slurs against Chinese players. The news also spread like wildfire, reaching the Chinese Dota 2 community.

Valve for the most part is fine with friendly trash talking, however, KuKu’s remarks were certainly not welcomed. TNC received a Dota Pro Circuit point penalty, while Kuku was banned from attending the Chongqing Major, forcing the team to play with a stand-in.

Cloud9 doping scandal

Doping in esports was never considered to be an issue, that is until an interview with Cloud9 Semphis made rounds on the internet. As per the player, the entire team was on Adderall, a drug used to treat ADHD during the ESL One Katowice 2015.

This was a wake-up call for tournament organizers, who announced their stance against any form of performance-enhancing drugs in esports. ESL also announced their partnership with the National Anti-Doping Association and did doping tests to further keep the integrity of esports.

Fountain hook 

The Fountain hook play by NaVi shocked the world at the International 2013. During a match against TongFu, NaVi was in a very dire situation and had no possible way of a comeback. That is until two of the legendary players, Puppey and Dendi, revealed their ace.

At the time, there was a well-known exploit with Pudge hook that enabled dragging enemies across the map. This was done in combination with Chen’s Test of Faith spell. Using this, NaVi turned the tides on TongFu.

While many argue it was not a deserved win, others say that they made use of what was in the game and if doing Fountain Hook was that easy, everyone else would have done it. The exploit was patched later on, however the move remained so iconic that Vale has it archived.

ARAM at 2012 MLG Summer Finals

At the League of Legends MLG summer finals, Curse Vs Dignitas showed why maintaining competitive integrity in esports is important. Both teams decided to play it light and decide on the All Random All Mid (ARAM) strategy.

For those who do not know, it’s when teams decide to fight head in the mid-lane with random characters. While the players can decide how they want to play, fans who were there for the intense grand finals were disappointed.

What’s even worse is that both teams have made a deal to split the first and second-prize money regardless of who wins. This amounted to match-fixing as well as breached the faith of fans. Both teams were disqualified from the tournament.

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