Signature.Trust found stream-cheating in Manila Major qualifier

Signature.Trust were one of the favorites heading into the qualifiers for Valve’s Dota 2 Manila Major. But following an upset loss to Mongolz and a tied series against Tnc Gaming, the Thai team were eliminated, missing out on competing in Manila. Now they’re under heavy fire from the Dota community.

Following their elimination, it was revealed that the representatives from Thailand were stream-cheating in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage during their series against Mongolz. Reddit user Wkwky compiled a list of evidence against Signature.Trust, which mostly consists of a since-deleted video the team had published to its Facebook page.

The video shows how one of the players alt-tabs out of the Dota 2 client in order to watch the broadcast of the game on Twitch. While the broadcast is on a four minute delay, things like ward locations, the Roshan timer, and an overview of the net worth graph could provide any competitor with a serious advantage.

Wkwky also found one more instance of a player watching a broadcast of the game in the video. Stream-cheating is frowned upon in esports and has seen teams banned from competing in certain tournaments if they’re caught practising the unsportsmanlike behavior. It is worth noting, however, that stream-cheating is not mentioned in the qualifier’s official rulebook, though it probably falls under paragraph 4.15.“Using side programs affecting game process—Default loss.”

While the team has been eliminated from competition already they could face other repercussions for future tournaments, but Valve has not yet released a statement on the situation. A request for comment from Valve has been made.

Out of the 16 teams that made up the group stage of the Manila Major’s South East Asian qualifiers, the four remaining squads are Tnc Gaming, Mineski, Execration, and Taring. These teams will now face each other in a double-elimination bracket where the winner receives a spot at the upcoming Valve major.