xQc claims politics should be left out of esports after Virtus.pro Dota 2 ban

xQc claimed political statements have no place in esports after Virtus.pro’s Dota 2 team was disqualified from a tournament due to a player allegedly drawing a Russian pro-war symbol.

On April 29, Virtus.pro’s Dota 2 roster was disqualified from a tournament after one of their players, Ivan ‘Pure’ Moskalenko, allegedly drew a Russian pro-war symbol on the mini-map while the game was paused.

xQc was shocked to learn about the situation. Watching the events unfold on stream left him stunned, mainly because the team Virtus.pro were playing against had two Ukrainian players on the team.

It didn’t sit well with him.

However, he was also surprised the entire team was disqualified because of one player’s actions.

After thinking about it a little more, he concluded that political issues should be left out of esports. “I think overall, it doesn’t matter what it is, anything political in the middle of a tournament game… it’s just f**king yikes.

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“I don’t give a f**k about what side it’s for or what it is. I don’t care what it is. Politics in video games [makes me think] why?” he added, reiterating his belief that there’s no place for them given the sensitivity of these issues.

xQc didn’t condone the behavior by any means, nor did he specifically say the punishment wasn’t justified. He believes that all political issues shouldn’t be mentioned during a tournament, including this one.

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Not everyone will agree with the take. In fact, people who follow regular sports have the same debate going on too. However, it’s clear where xQc stands in that conversation, at least when it comes to esports.