Azure Ray have completed the tie-breaker and secured their spot in the playoffs following a controversial decision on their game against Nouns last night. The organiser of the Dota 2 Bali Major 2023 competition, IO Esports, has officially reversed their decision over the suspected bug exploitation by the Azure Ray squad versus Nouns in the last group stage match.
The dispute stems from yesterday’s second game, in which Azure Ray took a 1-0 lead. Although both teams were tied in the early game, Azure Ray dominated after 15 minutes and eventually won the match to advance to a tie-breaker versus Bleed Esports. However, several match officials suspected that the Azure Ray squad made a suspicious manoeuvre in the middle of the game.
The announcement upset the team and their fans, who saw their team at risk of missing the playoffs. At that time, Azure Ray would lose to Bleed Esports and unable to force a tie-breaker, according to the point computation. Fortunately for them, the Bali Major organiser quickly decided to investigate further and withdrew its verdict. Azure Ray subsequently went on to the tie-breaker and defeated Bleed Esports 2-1.
The watcher’s bug is one of the minor issues which discovered since the latest update. A watcher in the fog of war is essentially neutral; players who click on it will notice a white circle develop around its base. If an enemy grabs it, a red circle will appear. This change does not need players to get the watcher’s vision.
While this may not be a significant issue for the mainstream players, this small piece of information can make a difference in competition, especially with the rune spawns which is a big deal in a professional game.
