Valve cracks down on Dota 2 smurfs this Christmas with ‘Toxic Lump of Coal’

Valve had a surprise for smurf players in Dota 2 this weekend with the launch of their Frostivus holiday event; those engaging in the divisive behavior received a new treasure the ‘Toxic Lump of Coal’.

When Dota 2 players opened the treasure, they received their real prize — a VAC ban for their account.

VAC stands for Valve Anti-Cheat, an automated system Valve designed to detect users engaging in forms of cheating.

Smurf accounts were in for a shock when they received the treasure, and the Steam forums were full of players asking the same question: is there any way to get my account back?

And players who received one are out of luck, Valve is notorious for upholding VAC bans — no matter who the owner of the account is.

While there were plenty of PUB players hit by the ban, perhaps more shocking is the fact that pro players also found themselves affected.

Inactive North American player and popular Dota 2 streamer, Mason “mason” Venne, opened his treasure live on stream, giving fans a front-row seat to his emotional reaction.

Dota 2’s latest patch notes had forewarned players they were taking action against smurfing, a practice where players with a high MMR create a new account to play against lower-ranked players.

It’s not the first time Valve has cracked down on this toxic behavior either, in September of this year they banned 90,000 smurf accounts.

“Regardless of how you’ve been naughty, we’ve been watching you,” Valve told the player base in an update on their blog, going on to wish everyone a happy Frostivus update; “Except smurf accounts, who we assume will… choke on their richly-deserved coal-flavored just desserts.”