In less than a month following the introduction of Mad Kings’ new Dota 2 roster, the South American esports organization declared the decision to release their entire Dota 2 lineup.
The news comes after the recent ban of Steven “StingeR” Vargas in the middle of a match. For the uninitiated, the 27-year-old found himself getting banned mid-game in a series against Thunder Awaken in the South American closed qualifiers for Dreamleague Season 22.
It was later revealed that the ban had stemmed from StingeR sharing accounts with Mad Kings’ former carry player, David “Parker” Nicho Flores.
Following the incident, Mad Kings addressed the situation and officially severed ties with estar_backs through a Twitter announcement on January 18. The organization further emphasized that their decision was a direct response to a violation of Valve’s rules.
“We recognize and respect the rules established by Valve, which we accept and promote as an integral part of our organization,” Mad Kings said in a statement. “Due to these rules being broken, we have made the decision to end our collaboration with estar_backs.”
In the aftermath of the incident, Mad Kings confirmed that they’d be stepping away from competitive play. However, they further said that they will continue creating content and offering coverage for its supporters.