Riyadh Masters/EWC...

[Tox]

Anyone else find it incredibly... convenient... that the Saudis stack EWC with an org they formed in countless games by splashing insane amounts of money on player contracts?
As I was writing this, literally, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Falcons finally got beaten in the masters... but nonetheless I can't help but point out the coincidence of Falcons "beating" so many other teams, including them beating the Quatari PSG Quest (PSG being a Quatar-owned French football club; fancy that, the quataris had their fingers in china's leading dota 2 esports team for a time)...
Further to that, amid the masters, for days the crowd was virtually non-existent, but yesterday out of nowhere there was suddenly audience members chanting for Falcons but no other team at any point has had a cheer squad (saudi-funded fake supporters?)

That any player would be so devoid of ethics that they'd accept money from Saudi Arabia to be a part of Saudi-backed Falcons, is just sad...
I genuinely feel bad for the players who got sucked in by Saudi funding to join Falcons.
Sure they get to swim in their earnings, that ethics don't buy me any weight in gold... but these 20 something year old dota pros will one day have to consolidate the fact that their earnings are oil and blood stained Saudi trash.

To their credit, the one thing the Saudis do right with EWC/Riyadh Masters is the outlawing of advertisement for gambling org sponsors... though if they really cared, they'd outright ban the participation of any team/org sponsored by the multitude of gambling orgs who circumvent regulation in their exploitation of e-sports to market to under-18-yos.

Forgive my rant... It's just disgusting seeing Saudi Arabia "sportswash" their abhorrent world stage reputation and corrupt the esports/dota2 scene in the process.
If Valve and Dota 2 pros had any semblance of decency they'd boycott the **** out of Saudi Arabia.

[Tox]

I don't care how much tainted money Saudi Arabia throws at their little esports city hub, they will never be considered a legitimate hub for video gaming by me.
Jam All Car Show Gee.

[Tox]

Valve and the talent (many of whom I still enjoy) and the conscripted players may be able to forget for the sake of a paycheck, but I remember what the Saudis did to Jam All Car Show Gee.
Enjoy swimming in your oil and blood stained money, you sellout pieces of ♥♥♥♥.

[Tox]

Remember that time you cheered for the success of PSG LGD?
You were cheering on Qatari success...
PSG Quest? Double the Qatari...
Qatar have corrupted the e-sports arena just as much as the Saudis have.

France, Qatar and China are one in the same.
♥♥♥♥♥♥ corrupting esports.
The talent and players turning the other cheek so they can participate in Riyadh? ♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Go ahead and look into who owns PSG.
Look into who owns Quest.

PSG LGD was a Qatari-French-Chinese bastardisation
PSG Quest is purely Qatari, albeit that PSG is a Qatar-owned french entity.

[Tox]

E-sports has rapidly become the same old ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that plagues conventional sports; it's not about the players themselves, it's about corrupt governments owning "orgs" who sell and trade players, capitalizing on their skill to earn $$$

The competitive scene is corrupted beyond recognition, it's just pure sportswashing at this point.
What valve have allowed to happen to dota, is a travesty.

[Tox]

Wake up folks and start pushing for Valve/Dota to divest from the likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar; those two countries, among a host of others such as China, have no right to insert themselves as video gaming hubs, given their historical records of human rights abuses.

The talent we've grown to love over the years, should be held to account over their decision to knowingly accept payment for participating in Saudi/Qatari ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and sportswashing.