At a recent Dota 2 event, an unexpected physical altercation took place between AVALUS’s Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev and Team Falcons’s Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf during PGL Wallachia Season 2. The incident, which reportedly occurred in a hotel lobby in Bucharest, Romania, saw SoNNeikO threatening to strike ATF after putting his arms around him. Team managers had to intervene to separate the two, with initial reports suggesting that the altercation stemmed from a previous online conflict.
SoNNeikO at PGL Wallachia S2. Image Credit: PGL/Sebastian Pandelache
The news of the altercation was officially announced by PGL ahead of the scheduled match between Team Falcons and AVALUS, with the organization imposing a draft penalty on AVALUS as a result of the incident. PGL condemned the behavior and emphasized the importance of sportsmanship and respect in their tournaments.
“AVULUS has been issued a Level 3 Penalty for the entire series against Falcons (-110 seconds bonus time on the Draft) following an altercation between SoNNeikO and ATF in the hotel lobby.
We condemn this type of behavior, as it goes against the values of sportsmanship and respect that we uphold in our tournaments.The incident has been reviewed thoroughly, and appropriate action has been taken to ensure the integrity of the competition.
We expect all participants to maintain professionalism on and off the stage.
#PGLWALLACHIA”
In response, ATF provided his side of the story, explaining that the incident was a result of an online exchange that occurred months ago. Falcons also released a statement expressing their concerns and hinting at the possibility of withdrawing from the event.
Image Credit: Team Falcons
Despite the controversy, Falcons went on to defeat AVALUS 2-0 in the tournament. AVALUS has not issued a statement in English and does not have a strong social media presence, making it challenging to gather their perspective on the incident.
