ESL investigating Dota 2 smoke bug abuses after NaVi disqualified

Ivan Frigato Published January 23, 2025

NaVi Junior might be the first team to be disqualified for using a new smoke bug in Dota 2, but they won’t be the last if tournament organizer ESL has anything to say about it.

January saw four teams qualify for ESL Raleigh One, a pro Dota 2 tournament to be held in Spring 2025. NaVI Junior was one of these teams and, if attending, would get to play in its first-ever Tier 1 LAN tournament. However, ESL recently rescinded its invitation due to a team member’s use of a smoke bug during a qualifying match.

Dota 2’s smoke bug is no secret to many professional teams. Yet inconsistent enforcement has ultimately culminated in drama surrounding ESL’s disqualifying NaVi Junior over its use.

What is the smoke bug in Dota 2?

In Dota 2, a smoke bug has come up involves unfairly detecting an opponent’s use of the Smoke of Deceit to avoid a potential stealth attack.

Smoke of Deceit is one of many important game items found in Dota 2, purchasable in the Base Shop. It allows a player and all allied units to turn invisible in a 1,200 foot radius and to gain increased movement speed. The effect is only broken when an enemy comes within 1,025 feet. Players can use the effect to avoid wards or attack an opponent and then hide themselves on the map. Ultimately, Smoke of Deceit is all about the element of surprise, and it’s an important tool in Dota 2.

Yet players have found a bug in the game that allows them to see if the opposing team is using a Smoke of Deceit. To do so, they need to check the inventory of the opposing support hero and click on the Smoke of Deceit icon. If it’s inactive, an “alert allies” notification will pop up. Otherwise, players can be sure that the enemy is invisible. This smoke bug has been present in Dota 2 for some time now. It isn’t a surprise, then, that even professional teams and players would start to take advantage of it given the high stakes they’re playing for.

ESL to investigate after kicking NaVi JR from ESL One Raleigh

ESL points to Stanislav “Riddys” Mitroshkyn’s use of the smoke bug as the reason for the disqualification of NaVi after winning an ESL One Raleigh qualifier.

On January 22, ESL announced that it was disqualifying NaVi Junior’s Riddy and the entire team from the upcoming ESL One Raleigh tournament. The company cited “multiple abuses of the smoke bug” during qualifying play and said the bug’s use was sufficient reason for disqualification. Though specific games weren’t mentioned, fans found that Riddy did use the smoke bug against AVULUS in its tournament-qualifying game. AVULUS will thus be filling in the empty spot at ESL One Raleigh.

Yet fans have also pointed out that NaVi Junior is far from the only team to exploit the smoke bug in competitive play. Team Spirit and Tundra Esports, both regulars at The International, have also been spotted using it in recent games. Fans argue that ESL needs to be consistent and either disqualify every team that uses it or none of them.

Just a day after the original statement, ESL added they would be investigating other smoke bug abuses during the qualifiers and that it would take time to reach a definitive conclusion. With ESL One Raleigh being held in April 2025, ESL has time to perform a deep dive. What ESL may not have is the patience of fans and pro teams who want a clear answer sooner than later. This decision could also end up having consequences for the competitive Dota 2 scene as a whole.

The easiest solution would be for Valve to go in and fix the smoke bug in Dota 2, though fans aren’t holding their breath for that. Until that happens, professional teams should be wary of using it lest they end up like NaVi Junior.