Dota 2 players Yatoro & Mira banned by UESF: What does it mean?

The Ukrainian Esports Federation (UESF) has reportedly imposed a ban on Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk and Myroslav “Mira” Kolpakov, two of Crew Spirit’s The Worldwide 10 (TI10) champions. The ban comes because of the gamers’ association with Russian gamers throughout the similar crew.

This transfer implies that Yatoro and Mira will now not be eligible to take part in any UESF-organized tournaments. Furthermore, they are going to be restricted from touring overseas for tournaments in the event that they return to Ukraine.

Supply: Valve

Crew Spirit, at the moment primarily based in Belgrade, Serbia, is a melting pot of gamers from each Ukraine and Russia. Yatoro and Mira hail from Ukraine, whereas the opposite three members are from Russia. Amidst the continuing battle between Ukraine and Russia, Crew Spirit decided in March 2022 to relocate its operations from Moscow to Belgrade.

Yatoro and Mira can now not symbolize Ukraine

Because of this if Yatoro and Mira determine to return to Ukraine, they are going to face vital challenges in leaving the nation once more attributable to this ban. Moreover, they’re now barred from representing Ukraine in esports.

Regardless of the ban, Yatoro and Mira have been performing exceptionally effectively with Crew Spirit. They just lately clinched the title on the Riyadh Masters 2023, the occasion with the most important prize pool to this point this yr. The crew defeated Crew Liquid 3-1 within the grand ultimate, bagging a whopping $5,000,000 USD in prize cash.

At present, Crew Spirit is on a break, having already certified for The Worldwide 12 (TI12) primarily based on Dota Professional Circuit (DPC) factors. Except a significant third-party event is organized, Spirit shall be seen subsequent at TI12 in October 2023.

At this stage, the ban is just an announcement and can’t actually be enforced in any manner, nor does it impression the power of Crew Spirit to compete. It should nonetheless impression the gamers psychologically on the very least by vilifying their sportsmanship and comradery.

Further data: The ban on Yatoro and Mira just isn’t an remoted incident. Ukrainian esports gamers Igor “w0nderful” Zhdanov and Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotja have been additionally reportedly banned for enjoying on the identical crew as Russian gamers. The UESF has but to touch upon whether or not different esports gamers teaming up with Russians will face comparable bans.

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