Unfair advantages due to soundproofing issues reported at TI11

Team Fnatic was eliminated early in the competition and has now filed a complaint against the event because players could hear the commentators throughout matches.

Several Dota 2 players, personalities, and fans have come forward in the last two days to claim that, at least on the first day of TI11’s main event at Suntec Singapore, players on stage could clearly hear the commentators while gaming.

Apparently there have been now been adjustments to the speakers to mitigate this. It's really unacceptable that this happened.

Who tested this to make sure it was up to acceptable competitive integrity levels?

What compensation will be given to teams eliminated by this? https://t.co/mVlpP5jPQ6

— Ben Steenhuisen (@Noxville) October 21, 2022

The two teams in an esports contest are expected to be working with only knowledge obtained in-game. Enemy locations, opposition purchases, cooldowns, and other information are not easily apparent to players unless they utilise in-game capabilities such as Wards to locate foes and keep a mental checklist of what the enemy team is doing and when.

Commentators, on the other hand, have all of that information at their fingertips – they can easily see both sides and what they have in terms of items and cooldowns, as well as map placements. This “real sight” enables commentators to describe what is occurring to viewers at home, therefore when some players obtain the capacity to hear what the commentators are saying, it might result in a power imbalance between the competitors.

For the record, our team could not hear the casters clearly enough. Our team comms – which I was present to listen in full during the match – would reflect that. Our loss is our own, and we do not blame GG for anything.

— SunBhie (@SunBhieDota) October 21, 2022

Players who were paying attention to the remarks may subsequently devise a counter-strategies to their opponents’. The International 2022 was hosted in Singapore this year, and the stage design is likely to blame for the blunder. An conversation with one of the players, Anton “Dyrachyo” Shkredov, originally in Russian, showed exactly what was going on.

We have filed a formal report after learning that the opponent in our elimination game at TI11 were able to hear the production of the match, and according to themselves leveraged from that information in their decision-making. (1/2)

— Patrik Sättermon (@sattermon) October 21, 2022

That’s what Fnatic claims in their legal protest, and to make matters worse, the team cites its opponents as confirming the occurrence. In a post-match interview, Gaimin Gladiator squad member “dyrachyo” remarked that they could hear the commentators clearly as day during the battle.

Other teams, including PSG, have corroborated this. LGD squad member “XinQ” said that they could hear but not understand the casters because the team does not speak English.

As a former player I am very frustrated that such integrity issues are still not prevented, especially on the absolute biggest stage of the sport. Our intention is solely to raise awareness about something that can be as game breaking as dream crushing for the athletes. (2/2)

— Patrik Sättermon (@sattermon) October 21, 2022

“We submitted a formal report after finding that the opponent in our elimination game at TI11 was able to hear the match’s production and, according to them, used that knowledge in their decision-making,” Fnatic co-owner Patrik Sättermon remarked. “As a former player, I am very disappointed that such integrity concerns are still not averted, especially on the sport’s grandest stage. Our only goal is to raise awareness about something that can be as game-changing as dream shattering for athletes,” he added.

Multiple individuals present at TI in Singapore and the community at large raised the issue and asked PGL to act, including Team Aster owner and former pro player Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei, who reported the matter to PGL as an obvious unfair advantage to English-speaking teams. The only evident improvement made to prevent a repetition of the situation, according to several participants at the event on day two, was to decrease the level of the speakers broadcasting the casters closest to the stage.