The Chinese Dota 2 community was set ablaze on social media on Thursday, December 2, 2021, when Dota 2 organization PSG.LGD announced that they are suspending coach Zhang “xiao8” Ning for thirty days. The news may not have been as shocking for the Chinese community as for the Western world, which holds xiao8 on near-legendary status. Hence, it might come as a surprise that a legendary player would be suspended for thirty days by their very own organization, especially if you haven't been keeping tabs on PSG.LGD and xiao8 post TI10. So here's a quick explainer on the reason behind xiao8's suspension and his current status with PSG.LGD.

Why was xiao8 suspended for thirty days by PSG.LGD?

PSG.LGD performed spectacularly well during The International 10, finishing second place in the grandest stage of them all for the second time in the organization's history. Team Spirit had a 2-0 lead over PSG.LGD when the Chinese team rallied and tied the game 2-2. On the final game of the series, it all seemed like Team Spirit's cinderella run would come to an end, perishing under the experience and veterancy of PSG.LGD. But then, fans noted that PSG.LGD's draft in Game 5 was odd, and that it led to the team's loss against the upstart CIS team. Many questioned xiao8's draft for that game, and called him out for allegedly throwing the game in favor of Team Spirit.

Days later, allegations were made towards xiao8 on social media that he bet against his own team and drafted badly on Game 5 on purpose. The allegations led to members of PSG.LGD coming to the defense of their coach, saying that no one is to blame for their loss. However, the attacks against the coach won't die down.

About a week later, xiao8's ex-wife would come out on Chinese social media platform weibo. She would allege that xiao8 has had extramarital affairs and that he has a gambling problem, saying that he bets on Dota 2 games, lending more credence to the rumors that the Chinese veteran has thrown the TI10 Grand Finals for a bet. In fact, his ex-wife made public screenshots of a betting website, showing that xiao8 has been betting on Dota 2 pro matches months leading up to TI10. However, it's worth noting that there have been no solid proof yet showing that xiao8 had in fact bet against his own team on the TI10 Grand Finals.

Valve and PSG.LGD investigates xiao8

Valve may not have found any wrong-doing from the side of xiao8 and the rest of the PSG.LGD roster. In fact, Valve maintains that the TI10 Grand Finals was held with integrity. PSG.LGD's retained spot on the DPC league may be enough proof of Valve's confidence in the organization's innocence.

However, PSG.LGD would still open its own independent investigation on the matter. The organization cites the reputational damage that the allegations towards xiao8 have made on the organization's image as the reason as to why they are investigating him in spite of Valve's findings. PSG.LGD has since asked Valve's help in the investigation, requesting for for audio tapes from the Grand Finals and providing those to a private investigation firm in China.

Pending the results of these investigations, the organization has decided to put the coach on a preventive suspension. While PSG.LGD would continue playing in the DPC season, they will do so without their legendary coach. For the meantime, at the very least.