Past mistakes haunt Dota 2 NA veteran Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho as he receives an indefinite ban from Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) organizers.

DeMoN's future is a thing of the past

2021 is not the year of DeMoN. NA veteran Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho started the year looking for a new team to play with. He wanted to make a comeback in the North American (NA) region as the regional leagues of Dota 2 returned.

He eventually formed a team, Team Aristotle, and battled their way through the Open Qualifiers. It won't be until the Closed Qualifiers did he receive a ban from the DPC organizers. According to the organizers, the decision is made due to DeMoN's “misconduct at previous Dota 2 tournaments.” DeMoN was embroiled in various scandals around June last year, when women in esports came forward speaking up about sexual harassment from players and talents. DeMoN was among the people named by victims who came out at that time.

NA DPC League made their announcement after Team Aristotle beat Electronic Boys in the DPC 2021: Season 1 Closed Qualifier lower bracket round 1. They were one win away before qualifying to the Lower Division when the decision against DeMoN came down.

It should be noted that a third-party organizer, BeyondTheSummit (BTS), is handling the DPC NA League. BTS has previously banned DeMoN from casting on their platforms last year. According to BTS, they launched an investigation regarding the alleged sexual misconduct by the player, and have found facts that proves his guilt. His banning as a player came down six months later.

It is unclear whether BTS banned DeMoN unilaterally, or if the decision was actually approved by Valve. However, as official representatives of Valve for the NA league, BTS's decision to ban DeMoN will be upheld.

Pro players, talents, Twitter reacts

Unsurprisingly, DeMoN didn't take the decision too kindly.

DeMoN has since said that he'll contact Valve, developers of Dota 2 and organizers of The International, regarding the matter. With no way to enter the DPC, DeMoN no longer has any way to reach The International, at least for this year.

Some other players showed their support for DeMoN following the decision.

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David “GodZ” Parker, co-founder of BeyondTheSummit, responded to ppd's reaction, saying that BTS had more information than the public has.

However, other people have criticized BTS for banning the pro player just one game away from qualifying for the Lower Division.

As for Team Aristotle, they may still fight on their scheduled match this Thursday, January 14. They can still compete, provided they can find a replacement for their banned teammate in time.