After a thorough investigation, the organizers of the DOTA Pro Circuit have absolved the SMART Omega franchise from its involvement in match-fixing allegations.
Omega has been reinstated to compete in Dota tournaments, as well as Valve events.
“Following the decision made by the DOTA Pro Circuit Winter Season 2021-2022 organizers, Smart Omega immediately reached out to all the parties related to the incident and conducted an internal investigation,” read Omega’s statement.
“Furthermore, Valve representatives have accepted our appeal to lift the ban on our organization, and has allowed us to join the DOTA Pro Circuit Spring Season and other Valve-sponsored events.”
Last November 24, The Dota Pro Circuit made a swift decision to ban Omega Esports from all Valve events due to “match-fixing” activities.
However, it came at a cost.
Omega needed to release head coach Chris “CTY” MaIdo and players Prince “Prince” Daculan and Ryniel “Zenki” Calvez.
Prince and Zenki would have been part of Omega’s reloaded team that also has Lee “Forev” Sang-don, Ramzi “Ramz” Bayhaki, and Liew “Eren” Jun Jie.
Dave “Hiro” Miyata, Patt “Piolz” Dela Cruz, and “Van” Manalaysay remain banned as well.
Moreover, Omega vowed to strengthen its drive against match-fixing and other illicit activities both in cyberspace and in real life.
“Smart Omega will also strengthen its internal processes to prevent these kinds of incidents from happening in the future,” it added.
“As a staunch supporter of esports, our organization remains committed to upholding the rules of the league and in encouraging healthy competition in the global esports industry.”