Malr1ne’s Dota 2 account banned by Valve

Michael Hassall Published October 27, 2025

Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak, mid laner for Team Falcons, has seemingly had his main and original Dota 2 account banned by game creator Valve.

News of the ban was revealed by teammate Ammar “AMMAR_THE_F” Alassaf on Telegram on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. Originally stated to be a VAC ban, or Valve Anti-Cheat ban, which would affect IPs all Steam titles associated with the ban, it was later revealed to be a less serious game ban, focusing just on Dota 2.

Update 27/10/2025: Malr1ne’s account appears to have been unbanned by Valve, and his Steam profile no longer displays the ban

Malr1ne’s Dota 2 account banned

The ban is reportedly related to the use of third-party programs or cheats, as stated in the ban message showcased on Telegram. Browsing to Malr1ne’s Steam Profile shows that he has one ban. This message is displayed on Steam profiles belonging to suspicious and often banned users. Details beyond this are limited.

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While this type of ban could be related to cheats, VAC and game bans can also target the use of innocuous third-party programs, including elements like modding platforms and recording software, due to them interacting with games in a similar way to cheat engines.

Like many players, pros or otherwise, Malr1ne will likely have other accounts. However, in Dota 2, unlike many other esports, players primarily play tournaments on their own accounts. As a result, this could affect Malr1ne’s ability to play in tournaments.

While his teammates seem to be taking the ban in stride, jokey messages about the ban are already flooding in. Malr1ne’s teammate Oliver “skiter” Lepko posted today (Oct. 27):

[twitter url=”https://x.com/Skiter/status/1982745036530852201″]

Team Falcons are scheduled to play in the playoffs of FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 and BLAST Slam IV in the next several weeks. Currently, neither tournament has released any information about whether the ban will affect Malr1ne’s ability to play, but both events have rules against teams fielding players who have VAC or account bans. Additionally, playing tournaments with multiple accounts may breach other tournament rules. For the TI14 champions, this is either a minor hiccup, or a major issue.

Check back for more Dota 2 news.

Featured Image Credit: Valve