South American Dota 2 recently suffered one of its worst blows after the PlayTime scandal at the Esports World Cup

South America Dota 2 he has just suffered the worst blow for God knows how long. In a Dota 2 tournament Esports World Cupone of the biggest tournaments of the year, PlayTimMidfielder Gonzalo “DarkMago” Herrera and coach Juan “Vintage” Angulo have been suspended by the ESC for allegedly violating the Anti-Corruption Code.

We would later find out that the alleged “integrity issues” led to talk of a possible game fix. Because of this, the pair were removed from the Esports World Cup hours before the team’s scheduled match against Vici Gaming.

Since both were banned from competing in the tournament, PlayTime was unable to enter replacements in time. Because of this, the South Americans were given an automatic loss in the elimination game, meaning they were sent packing from the $2 million event without even playing the series.

Normally, this would be another bad case in Dota’s history of poor match fixing, but given the way the situation in South America has progressed in the 2026 season, this case is particularly painful for the region.

For years people have been playing the South American Dota area, seeing it as the forgotten child of the game. Historically, the region looked like divisional fodder – they would get one spot in the biggest events and get eliminated without ever seeing the light of the playoffs stage.

However, the narrative has changed dramatically in recent years, especially for the 2025-2026 season. South America now has LGD Gaming (formerly Heroic) and a second force: PlayTime, who looks like a real Tier 1 contender.

For the first time in a while, South America did not send a single team to the main stage; it sent the real rivals – the majority. We would invariably see another South American make the playoffs for the main event. If it wasn’t for LGD Gaming, it would be PlayTime finishing the S-tier tournament in the top eight.

Many other fans and I were expecting Valve to finally give South America two slots for The International this year. But no – Valve gave the region only one place, and LGD Gaming took it from PlayTime this time.

Obviously TI is the biggest event of the year. Even though the swimming pool has seen a significant sunset over the years, it is still very important.

With PlayTime missing out on that spot for LGD Gaming, the Esports World Cup has become their final tournament of the season. Whatever happened in Paris was, in a real sense, the last thing that would define their campaign until TI.

The thing is, there will always be a big shuffle around TI. Failed teams are more likely to make changes, and winless teams tend to look to rebuild after the tournament.

Therefore, this situation may be more important than we think. According to Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov of Team Spirit, he heard that DarkMago was in the lead and may be kicked after the Esports World Cup.

The thing is, DarkMago might have known that. I think my man wanted to go out with a bang and get a little breakup bonus on his way out the door.

I mean, DarkMago is one thing, but the team’s trainer, Vintage, is included in the combined setup. Vintage is not only the team’s coach – he is also the sports director of the PlayTime organization, which is just crazy.

If he is also involved, what really happens behind the scenes?

Whatever the reason, these guys are going crazy trying to pull it off at the Esports World Cup. This is a $2 million event and has eyes from all over the scene at each game. They are so desperate or truly convinced that no one can catch them, and none of them is a wise choice.

Of course, the reaction from the Dota 2 community was about what you’d expect: everyone was frustrated.

Dota 2 caster Avery “SVG” Silverman didn’t fold in his Note for Broadcast podcast: :Even in those cases, your risk reward is giving up all of your remaining work for one payoff that’s like, not so rumored.

“Just a smart decision, man. Just stupid. And these guys are destroying faith in the Dota ecosystem. It’s hurting the game, it’s hurting the tournament, it’s hurting Valve’s interest in doing more. F*** you, man.”

The rest of PlayTime’s roster also commented on the situation. In his story on Instagram, the team’s fifth-ranked player Yelsthin “Elmisho” Hurtado even wished that whoever participated in 322 (match fixing) should be punished and sent to prison.

Out-of-work South American pro Mariano “Papita” Caneda is deeply disappointed, especially since the alleged perpetrators ruined the first Esports World Cup event for 18-year-old teammate Máximo “Wits” Orozco Alza.

Although Wits looks extremely promising. I feel sorry for the kid – he’s been trying his ia*s and it turns out his central nervous system has been moving the whole time.

The pairing is still under investigation, and no one has been charged at this time. However, if the worst happens, this can mean serious South American Dota area problem. Just as the region takes a step forward, it is taken two steps back.

The Esports World Cup was supposed to be a great opportunity for South America to put itself on the map. PlayTime didn’t look too bad on the teams either – and now that we know there’s something fishy going on behind the scenes, they’d probably look a lot better if everyone in the team was playing it live.

Many, including myself, have been wanting South America to finally get the respect it deserves. It’s no longer a one-team district – there are two teams that can hang with the big boys. And all that hard-earned loyalty is at risk of going down the drain of two people trying to get a quick buck.

If Valve or tournament organizers were to seriously consider giving South America more slots in their events (like TI), a match-fixing scandal involving one of the region’s top teams doesn’t really help.

After these allegations and the team’s withdrawal from the Esports World Cup, the PlayTime organization released DarkMago, Vintage, and Frank “Frank” Ayala, who works out of assets. Too bad Frank’s removal had anything to do with these two, but he made it clear he wasn’t involved in any funny business.

Still, I’m glad that Wits and Elvis “Scofield” Peña remain untouched and may be cleared. These are my two favorites of the bunch, and they’re the kind of pieces you rebuild around.

The organization has already confirmed that a new system is in the works, so at least we know no one is abandoning ship.