Valve Drops the Ban Hammer on Chinese Dota 2 Pro Players

Valve and Chinese organizer Perfect World recently issued penalties against 12 professional Dota 2 players accused of breaching competitive integrity.

Announced on May 17, the sanctions include lifetime bans for five players and two-year competitive suspensions for seven others. This marks the biggest ban hammer enforced by Valve since 2023, when over 40 players were penalized for match-fixing and other violations in China’s Division 2 Dota Pro Circuit.

The sanctioned players are:

• Lv “L’enfer” Yubin (permanent ban)
• Chen “Small.Kk” Zhichao (permanent ban)
• Lew “Eren” Junjie (permanent ban)
• Hu “molasses” Jiaxing (permanent ban)
• Li “xiaoyu” Qianyu (permanent ban)
• Zhu “V” Lianfa (2-year ban)
• Feng “Killa” Bonian (2-year ban)
• Li “RanFuDao” Xinyuan (2-year ban)
• Liu “manic” Junhui (2-year ban)
• Wang “marblue” Heng (2-year ban)
• Yu “Tz.” Chengwei (2-year ban)
• Wang “59” Tao (2-year ban)

Among those named, manic (also known as mmmm) drew attention for his performance in the 2025 Asian Champions League, a qualifier for the Riyadh Masters. Most other sanctioned players had either retired or were competing in Tier 2 teams.

While specific details of the violations remain undisclosed, the penalties highlight Valve and Perfect World’s commitment to upholding fair play in Asian competitions, particularly as qualifiers for major global tournaments approach.