"At least half of the teams in South America use cheats", — Team Nemesis coach

Filipe Astini Astini once again addressed the issue of cheating on the professional Dota 2 scene, adding that many suspicious in-game moments cannot be used as direct evidence of prohibited software usage.

Instead, he suggests paying attention to a combination of factors, including reactions to opponents' abilities, Roshan kills, camera movement patterns, and actions on the map.

No cheat will allow a player to do something that is not already possible within the game. So, in essence, everything can be explained. But if you compare how a player performs at 100% of a hero's potential and how they perform at 5% when they are under suspicion, the picture becomes much clearer.

Astini also revealed that he is working on software designed to identify suspicious player behavior patterns. According to him, such a system could automatically detect signs of prohibited software usage and help combat offenders.

It is worth noting that the investigation stemmed from the South American closed qualifiers for Esports World Cup 2026. In one of the matches, Team Nemesis suffered a 0:2 defeat to Team Hakori, after which the coach pointed out several suspicious plays made by support player Hernán Luis asao Mamani López.

Astini later publicly accused the player of using cheats and shared several gameplay clips which, in his opinion, indicated the use of prohibited software.

The two teams met again in the lower bracket final, where Nemesis took revenge with a 2-0 victory before going on to win the qualifiers and secure a spot at EWC 2026.

Astini had previously criticized the organization of the South American EWC qualifiers, pointing to the lack of recorded player communications and camera checks. However, he later stated that ESL had listened to participants' concerns.

We were close to not making it through. But I am glad ESL listened and introduced additional match checks. The South American region is literally infested with cheaters. In my opinion, at least half of the teams are using them.

In conclusion, Astini said that he is currently focused on preparing for The International 2026, but promised to share updates on the development of his cheat-detection system in the future.

The Dota 2 tournament at Esports World Cup 2026 will take place from 06.07.2026 to 18.07.2026. A total of 24 teams will compete for a $2,000,000 prize pool.

Earlier, Cyberscore reported that Chinese veterans had returned for the TI15 qualifiers.