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Fans were quick to flame Entity Esports' support player Dzmitry “Fishman” Palishchuk after the banger of a match between RNG and Entity in the lower bracket first round of the Dota 2 The International 2022, which Entity won. Moments before GGs were called, fans watching the broadcast saw fishman pause the game, an act that is seen by many in the Dota 2 community as an act of “BM” or bad manners – basically unsportsmanlike behavior. But did fishman actually pause the game to taunt RNG – as fans insinuate? We take a look at the evidence and see if this was indeed the case.
The game we're talking about is a very emotionally-loaded match. It was the closing game of Day 1 of The International 2022 Playoffs, and it turned out to be a grindfest, dragging the game to 107 minutes before ending, officially recording the longest main stage TI match in history. Hence, it was not surprising that a lot of fans got invested in the game as well. At the closing moments of the game, Entity pushed against RNG's throne and, before GGs were called, the game was paused by fishman. Fans quickly reacted to this, saying that fishman disrespected his opponents. To add fuel to the fire, most of RNG's lineup was actually not on-stage, as they are playing from their hotel rooms as they recover from COVID. So, the fans who felt sympathy for the lone RNG player on the floor, xNova, took additional offense at the perceived slight.
But video evidence says otherwise. It looks like the pause was purely accidental and was caused by fishman throwing his headset on his keyboard, which, theoretically speaking, mashed the F9 button, causing the pause. There's video evidence of this taking place, as recorded by a fan on-site. Another supporting evidence is fishman's in-game perspective at the time, which saw his cursor drag the screen to a corner – a sign that the player lost control of their mouse and is hands-off with both the keyboard and of the mouse.
Entity.Fishman threw his headset and it paused the game. He did not intentionally BM or pause the game.
byu/benjamincyp inDotA2
Entity Esports felt the need to clear the air as well on social media. In a Twitter post, the organization said:
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“We wanted to clarify, as we have personally asked @FishmanDota2 that his pause is accidental. He hit the table too hard and din't mean to disrespect @RNG. If anything, we have full respect to RNG for playing despite being covid positive. You played like warriors.”
Fishman also posted on his socials, saying:
“GG. Awesome game. Thats why we like dota. Also i have to say that I didnt pause on purpose. I guess it happened when i hitted headset on the keyboard. Im sorry and ofc i respect team RNG! Wp you guys beasts. Can’t understand how you can play good like this with covid.”
Of course, not everyone is taking the explanation at face value. Notable esports organization Natus Vincere insinuated that anyone believing Entity's and fishman's statements is a clown, tweeting:
Me after watching the headset video a few times https://t.co/KjZHxNeJiS pic.twitter.com/Qf0ibXlWD5
— NAVI (@natusvincere) October 20, 2022
In our opinion, it was an honest mistake. Fishman and Entity have both cleared the air, and it seems like RNG has no ill feelings towards Entity. Regardless of your opinion, though, one thing's for sure: Entity will be facing the loser of today's match between Team Liquid and Team Aster tomorrow, facing potential elimination once again in the lower bracket of the Dota 2 The International 2022.
