KuroKy came with a winning spirit.
The DreamLeague Season 23 qualifiers were nothing short of dramatic. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, one story stood out for its humor. The Lower Bracket saw leading team Nigma Galaxy go up against the Iranian stack COPPYBEBRA. This elimination match was littered with carefree all-chats and behaviors, including some targeted disrespect towards Nigma Galaxy’s captain, Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi.
In the tournament’s opening game, COPPYBEBRA’s position 5 player, “MJ”, taunted the chatroom by asking: “[KuroKy] when retire?”
KuroKy and Nigma Galaxy, however, stayed quiet during the entire game without casting chats or tips. Interestingly, the match ended up being a short one with Nigma Galaxy triumphing, courtesy of a 23-1 kill ratio and a GG call within 16 minutes. But that wasn’t the end of the highlights of the series. The second game was marred with even more disagreeable all-chats and in-game behavior. Here’s a snapshot of what happened in the second game.
Nigma Galaxy prioritizes Meteor Hammers against a lax COPPYBEBRA
The second game began with COPPYBEBRA’s midlaner challenging: “[Boys] go 5v5 bot rune?” The team persistently used the all-chat, instructing Nigma Galaxy to “stop deny” or “cool down”.
During the game, the midlaner even dropped his items in front of Miracle-‘s Gyrocopter, who didn’t engage. The team would sometimes announce their upcoming moves. Near the end, COPPYBEBRA asked Nigma Galaxy to hold on until the 20th minute when they’d resign.
Many Reddit users criticized COPPYBEBRA’s conduct, terming it as close to match-fixing and disrespectful to the spirit of competition. Many highlighted that such behavior is unacceptable in a significant tier 1 tournament qualifier, where the stakes are high.
“Kuro holding his team back, unfortunately” – MJ criticizes KuroKy for a second time
In the second game, MJ renewed his incitement towards KuroKy, alleging that “Kuro [holding] back his team once again. [Unfortunate].” The team’s Lifestealer, A1one, promptly apologized for his teammate’s comments, admitting that his friend lacked communication skills and that they didn’t intend to disrespect anyone.
In the second game, it was obvious that COPPYBEBRA had no intention of seriously vying against Nigma Galaxy. The Nigma players focused on Meteor Hammers to accelerate objective completion. They remained unresponsive to the continuous all-chat taunts and just concluded the game at minute 20. At the end of the game, none of the Nigma Galaxy players responded with a “GG” to their adversary, marking a frigid end to the series.
This whole saga became a trending topic on Reddit, with users rallying behind KuroKy (ironically). The experienced player is among the greatest Dota 2 players ever, with numerous accolades, including winning The International in 2017.
Nonetheless, there have been calls for “KuroKy to retire” from within the community for some time. In recent years, the captain has faced difficulties propelling his team to the top. Regardless of his stumbles, KuroKy continues to command the community’s respect.