An incident recently occurred at the DreamLeague S22 Grand Finals between BetBoom’s TORONTOTOKYO and Falcons’ ATF.

Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak, the midlaner for Team Falcons, accused TORONTOTOKYO, who is a TI10 champion, of making inappropriate and offensive comments towards his teammate, Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, in the game lobby before the grand final match of the DreamLeague Season 22. This revelation was made public during a livestream by Oleksii “STORM” Tumanov.

Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek (Image credit: Valve)

Malr1ne calls TORONTOTOKYO out

Malr1ne’s criticism of TORONTOTOKYO was not only about the specific comments made but also about the broader issue of how the tournament’s admins turned a blind eye on the comment. To quote Malr1ne’s words,

“Let’s just say he wrote before the game: “Ammar, I’m going to f*ck you today.“”

Malr1ne pointed out that, while competitive banter is part of the game, there are subtler and more acceptable ways to engage, such as tipping, calling “gg” or “bot”, or even dropping items.

His astonishment was compounded by the apparent lack of reaction of the tournament’s admins in response to the incident, signaling a worrying oversight in regulating player conduct.

Toxic Behavior or Tough Love?

This incident prompts a deeper examination into the line between rivalry and outright disrespect or toxicity. While ATF has been known for his controversial behavior in pub matches, many within the esports scene attest to his positive demeanor behind the scenes.

The incident also raises a critical concern among Dota 2 pro players in distinguishing between trash talk, which can be a strategic and entertaining element of competition, and harmful behavior that undermines professionalism.

The reaction, or lack thereof, from tournament admins to the incident highlights the need for clear guidelines and consistent enforcement to maintain a respectful and professional environment.

Beef between TORONTOTOKYO and ATF

During the grand finals round 1, ATF tipped and even all-chatted a smiley-face at TORONTOTOKYO after the latter died to Doom’s ultimate. The casters at the match were also just as confused but assumed that it was payback by ATF for what TORONTOTOKYO did during a series beforehand. TORONTOTOKYO had tipped Malr1ne previously for a failed play.

By connecting the dots on this incident with others, the exchange of taunts between TORONTOTOKYO and ATF seem to make more sense that there is beef after all, or so we thought. ATF has came out to clarify that they do not have any beef. To quote the player,

“TORONTOTOKYO was toxic towards me a lot in the second game of DreamLeague Winner’s Bracket final, so I started typing him. Today, on the final day, he said he would destroy me, and I just continued typing him whenever I could. We’re kind of friends with them”

All in all, this certainly isn’t a good look for BetBoom Team and its players. Just when fans thought that their beef with Azure Ray last year has finally concluded after the Chinese team disbanded, now it’s Falcon’s turn.