Team Orca may have already been banned from all Valve events but one of their players is claiming innoncence.
Orca’s vtFaded said that while he participated in smurfing for another team, he has dismissed match-fixing claims.
Team Orca had been caught using Team Apex accounts to compete on their behalf. Beyond the Summit also said that the esports team had participated in match fixing in the latest BTS Pro Series competition, one which Team Orca had won.
Along with Team Apex, a total of 10 players were banned:
1. vtFaded – Cheng Jia Hao
2. 闷油瓶 – Wang Liang (王亮)
3. Yif – Zhou Yifu (周一夫)
4. citrus (AhJit) – Lai Jay Son
5. Gy – Wang Kok Guan
6. Hunghung – Bùi Văn Hùng
7. BrayaNt – Pang Jian Zhe
8. QWE – Namir Mohammad
9. Datbb – Nguyễn Thành Đạt
10. JJ – 杨俊杰
Team Orca had initially qualified for DPC SEA 2021/2022 Division II, having finished third in its first tour. They have since been booted out of the contest, leaving their qualification spot open.
However, the allegations did not stop there. It was later revealed that a separate investigation had uncovered evidence of match fixing in various tournaments among Team Orca members throughout the past year.
But, Team Orca member vtFaded released a statement on his Twitter account confirming that some members of his team had shared accounts. He went on to deny the match fixing allegations, though, claiming that he had “no idea” about any of it.
Here is what he had to say:
It remains to be seen whether Team Orca, and vtFaded in particular, will face further punishment for match fixing.
Notably, the team had just made away with $20,000 in prize money having triumphed in the Beyond The Summit (BTS) Pro Series Season 10: Southeast Asia competition. Tournament organisers, BTS, have yet to release any information regarding these allegations.
This incident is not the first of its kind, with match fixing a perennial problem in this region of the world. With betting becoming a big part of the esports here in Southeast Asia, this issue is unlikely to be solved anytime soon.
