In a tournament game in DOTA 2, Russian professional player Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko (18) drew a “Z” in the upper left corner of the mini-map. This was taken as a sign that he supports Russia’s war in Ukraine. The publisher of DOTA 2, Steam operator Valve, had his team disqualified. The team then fired the 18-year-old pro, who claims he was just painting around during a break.
What was the pro doing?
- At a tournament in Stockholm, the ESL One Stockholm Major, 18-year-old Russian “Pure” drew a “Z” in the upper left corner of the mini-map of DOTA 2.
- Team members hurriedly tried to paint over this symbol, but by then it was too late.
- The “Z” was taken as a sign by Pure to support the war of aggression by Russia in Ukraine. The consequences were harsh.
The 15-second clip shows the incident:
Z as a sign that you like and support the war
What does the “Z” mean? The “Z” is seen in the West as a symbol of supporting the Russians’ war in Ukraine. On Russian war equipment the painted “Z” was seen in the first weeks of the war, since then it has become established as a “pro-Russian” symbol (via instagram).
It is not clear exactly where this “Z” comes from and what it stands for. In the Russian alphabet, the letter does not exist. According to various theories, it either means something like “For victory”, “To the West” or stands for the name of the Ukrainian president.
Blizzard has already adjusted the heroine “Zarya” in Overwatch and removed the symbol there.
Team is disqualified – Allegedly Valve itself is behind it
Consequence: The organizers of the tournament have disqualified Pure’s team. All matches that they have already played and would have played were scored for the opponents.
This is what the player’s team says: The gamer’s e-sports organization, Virtus.pro, says they have learned that the “publisher of DOTA 2,” Valve itself, is behind the decision to exclude the team from the tournament. They say:
Valve has a definite history of imposing disciplinary penalties, but to qualify an entire team from a tournament because a single player drew something on a mini-map sets a whole new standard.
Nevertheless, Virus.pro has decided to draw consequences and has dismissed the player Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko. It is said that his action led to disqualification and “caused a lot of damage” in virtus.pro’s relationship with the world e-sports.
Our expertise on MeinMMO is related to gaming. If you want to learn more about Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, we recommend you to check official sites or news magazines:
– Ukraine Live Blog (via Time)
– War in Ukraine (via nzz)
– Solidarity with Ukraine (via auswärtiges-amt)
Important Notice: If you are having dark thoughts because of the current situation, you are not alone. Please get help. For example, call the telephone counseling service at 0800/111 0 111 or the online counseling service, where you can also use a chat. It’s free and available nationwide.
What the player says: The player says (via twitter), there was a long pause in the game and the guys and he were talking and doodling a bit on the map. When they realized what he was really drawing, they quickly tried to cover it up.
He didn’t mean to hurt anyone with it. It had happened by mistake. He wished peace to all.
The war in Ukraine keeps touching on issues related to gaming:
Escape from Tarkov: 230,000 watch moving video as Twitch streamer flees war
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