IN A MOVE that no one expected, Fnatic chief gaming officer and co-owner Patrik “cArn” Sättermon has announced that the team is filing a protest against Gaimin Gladiator.
The protest and report come after Gaimin Gladiator carry Anton “dyrancho” Shkredov told Russian casters during an interview that they could hear everything the casters were saying during the match.
Goonsquad carry play Charlie "charlie" Arat also tweeted that he heard GG's captain and support Melchior "Seleri" Hillenkamp make a play from the information given by casters during the broadcast.
Fnatic was eliminated by Gaimin Gladiators on October 20, and ended their The International run at 13th to 16th place.
Fnatic protest adds to soundproofing complaints
Reports of bad soundproofing had already broken in the Dota 2 Reddit page hours after the interview with PSG.LGD’s Zhao "XinQ" Zixing confirming in Chinese social media that players are able to hear even with the “noise-canceling” headset.
“Our intention is solely to raise awareness about something that can be as game breaking as dream crushing for the athletes,” Sättermon added in a later tweet.
Meanwhile, Fnatic's Paolo Bago has clarified on Sättermon's statement.
"Our players could hear sound leaks but couldn't hear anything clear so they instead raised their teamspeak volumes and focused on the game. To be clear: Our loss is on us and blame nothing on GG. This is solely filed in the interest of competitive integrity"
With the issue of soundproofing brought back to light, many questioned the lack of soundproof booths for this year’s TI. It is the first time the annual tournament forwent the soundproof booths.
It wasn’t the first time Dota 2 tournaments tried a no-booth tournament. Last year’s Singapore Major and AniMajor didn’t have booths, but then again, those didn't have a live audiencce. Valve, however, did bring back the booth for TI. This year’s Stockholm and Arlington Major also didn’t have a booth, but no issue of soundproofing was reported.
Meanwhile, Dota 2 stats man Ben “Noxville” Steenhuisen reported that speak volume levels were adjusted.
The soundproofing fiasco adds to issues currently being faced by TI11 organizers online. Fans were already unhappy with Valve and tournament organizer PGL. Many initially questioned why PGL was the sole organizer with the Last Chance Qualifier, instead of the previous setup with Regional Leagues.
Then there was the issue of bringing in a betting sponsor for this year’s broadcast.
There were also questions raised about the fact that the group casts were done remotely away from Singapore, where production value was noticeably lower compared to previous TIs. Even actor and Dota 2 fan Asa Butterfield noted the difference.
The International 2022 will still have two more days in the Suntec Convention Center before moving to the Singapore Indoor Stadium next weekend for the final two days of competition.
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