Dota 2 pro Stinger slapped with Valve ban mid-match during DreamLeague qualifiers

Steven “Stinger” Vargas was abruptly disconnected during a crucial lower bracket match against Thunder Awaken. Ten minutes later, his team was forced to forfeit after it became clear the Peruvian player’s account had been banned.

Mad Kings were fighting for tournament survival in the closed South American qualifiers for DreamLeague Season 22. Right in the middle of their lower bracket series against Thunder Awaken, Stinger suddenly dropped from the server. When he tried to reconnect to the lobby, he couldn’t—his account had just been hit with a ban from Valve, as originally reported by GosuGamers. After a ten-minute wait, the default win was handed to Thunder Awaken.

Valve hasn’t released an official statement explaining the exact reason for the punishment just yet. However, the Dota 2 community on Reddit had already pointed out that Stinger’s teammate, David “Parker” Nicho Flores, had recently been playing on his account. Account sharing is a strict violation of Valve’s terms of service, making it the most likely reason for the sudden banhammer.

Parker, the teammate allegedly behind the shared account, wasn’t exactly apologetic about the situation. Addressing the drama on X/Twitter on January 17, he brushed off the criticism.

“I didn’t ask you to ban the account, I told you that my account was banned for a short time and I needed to play, you misunderstood,” Parker wrote.

He then signed off with a direct shot at his critics: “But hey, go sell fruit, kissessss LowSkill”.