“ESL Dota 2 referee > ESL Major winner”, — ESL denied Lil’s application as a Dota 2 referee

Professional player Ilya Lil Ilyuk shared on his personal social media accounts ESL FACEIT Group's response to his application to become a referee. Despite the player's e-sports achievements, he was not accepted for the job.

“Thank you for your interest in ESL FACEIT Group and the position of Dota 2 referee — we sincerely appreciate the time you spent on your application! Although your qualifications are impressive, we have decided to continue working with other candidates whose skills and experience better match our current needs.”

“ESL Dota 2 referee > ESL Major winner,” Lil commented on ESL's response.

The responsibilities of a Dota 2 referee in ESL, which require in-depth knowledge and understanding of the TO regulations, include monitoring matches, voice communications, and individual players' POV, ensuring compliance with tournament rules and regulations, recording technical issues, incidents, and controversial situations, and participating in their resolution.

In addition to winning ESL One Hamburg 2017, Ilya was also a finalist at The Kiev Major 2017 and placed 3rd-4th at ESL One Genting 2017 and ESL One Frankfurt 2015. On top of that, he has twice placed in the top 6 at The International (2015, 2017).

Recall that in August 2025, Lil attempted to revive the Odium tag. The stack he formed competed in a couple of tournaments, but soon disbanded, and Ilyuk has not competed professionally since.

As CyberScore reported earlier, Xakoda announced the breakup of Cheeki_Breeki.