With the conclusion of the Dota 2 Bali Major 2023 group stage, 10 teams have qualified for the playoffs, while the remaining six were eliminated. The five days provided fans worldwide with high-octane gameplay, nerve-wracking moves, resolute strategies, unbelievable comebacks, and individual brilliance. Sadly, it also involved a controversy surrounding Azure Ray.Azure Ray finished sixth in Group B of the Dota 2 Bali Major 2023, making it to the lower bracket of the playoffs. They defeated Bleed Esports 2-1 in the tiebreaker on the last day of the group stage to seal their group's last qualification berth.The controversy arose in their earlier pivotal series on the same day against nouns.What is the controversy surrounding Azure Ray and the Watcher bug in Dota 2 Bali Major 2023?In the aforementioned series, Azure Ray clean-swept nouns 2-0 to tie their score with Bleed Esports at 2-3-3 in the group stage to set up a tiebreaker match for qualification. Soon after, IO Esports posted on their official Twitter channel covering the Major that the match was being reversed to a 1-1 scoreline.Arseny Kuzminsky@_koozyaAZURE RAY USED ABUSED A BUG AT BALI MAJORScreenshot courtesy @your_hellfire. Post already deleted, but anyways.SOMNUS MAYBE PLEASE EXPLAIN!25736AZURE RAY USED ABUSED A BUG AT BALI MAJORScreenshot courtesy @your_hellfire. Post already deleted, but anyways.SOMNUS MAYBE PLEASE EXPLAIN! https://t.co/kJWcpGbLklIn the now-deleted tweet, the officials stated that Azure Ray had enjoyed "an unfair advantaged gained through bug abuse in the second match." The post was then deleted and followed up by another statement that the evidence was inconclusive to levy any stringent punishment.IO Esports @ Bali Major@ioesportsggOfficial statement regarding investigation for a match:42053Official statement regarding investigation for a match: https://t.co/zkNg6W27p2The latest statement did not mention Azure Ray by name. It further stated that the "reported bug was not able to be recreated consistently, adding complexity to the investigation." The 2-0 scoreline stood, and Azure Ray defeated Bleed Esports to secure their spot at the Dota 2 Bali Major 2023 playoffs.The bug was discovered by nouns' coach Filipe Astini who narrated the entire incident on Twitter. It involved pinging a Watcher that is shrouded in the fog. If the ping returns an attack symbol, it has been captured. This allowed teams utilizing this bug to realize where their enemies were and predict their movements.Filipe Astini@filipeastiniThis morning while analyzing the replays of Azure Ray, I noticed a weird pattern of their pre-rune movements. After a bit of trial and error, I understood that they were abusing a bug to find out if their enemies had already taken a specific watcher.36622This morning while analyzing the replays of Azure Ray, I noticed a weird pattern of their pre-rune movements. After a bit of trial and error, I understood that they were abusing a bug to find out if their enemies had already taken a specific watcher.Filipe Astini@filipeastiniThis is extremely powerful in finding out which direction the enemy team has left their base. In several games this completely thwarted some teams smokes and resulted in Azure Ray getting first blood or grabbing more bounty runes. E.g first blood in the game they won vs Betboom.43This is extremely powerful in finding out which direction the enemy team has left their base. In several games this completely thwarted some teams smokes and resulted in Azure Ray getting first blood or grabbing more bounty runes. E.g first blood in the game they won vs Betboom.Filipe Astini@filipeastiniAfter the end of game 1 we were notified that the bug was no longer allowed and we did not use it during the second game. Here is the screenshot of this verifying the time:42After the end of game 1 we were notified that the bug was no longer allowed and we did not use it during the second game. Here is the screenshot of this verifying the time: https://t.co/bBo0J9sS5aThe tournament organizers were notified of the situation. They allowed it to be used in the first Dota 2 game between nouns and Azure Ray before stating that it was banned thereafter. They said they had conferred with Valve, and the latter ruled:"Any team using the bug will incur penalties that could result in disqualification at the discretion of the League Operations Team."Filipe Astini@filipeastiniHere is an example of a competitive advantage of using this bug. By abusing it they know @BetBoomTeam has the watcher, thus they walk on the very corner of the vision and do the wrap-around on BB heroes, getting first blood from this angle. This would not work without the bug23Here is an example of a competitive advantage of using this bug. By abusing it they know @BetBoomTeam has the watcher, thus they walk on the very corner of the vision and do the wrap-around on BB heroes, getting first blood from this angle. This would not work without the bug https://t.co/G8x1fC3aIqFilipe Astini@filipeastiniIf anyone wants to look for it, it’s literally every previous match in the tournament, look pos 3 and pos 5 perspective around 50 to 30 seconds before horn, always clicking on enemy watchers.They also did ONE click after the ruling which ofc did not change the match outcome.14If anyone wants to look for it, it’s literally every previous match in the tournament, look pos 3 and pos 5 perspective around 50 to 30 seconds before horn, always clicking on enemy watchers.They also did ONE click after the ruling which ofc did not change the match outcome.Filipe Astini@filipeastini@BetBoomTeam Btw here is the easiest way to replicate it. Right click a watcher in fog.Red circle around = enemy got itWhite circle = enemy didn’t get it. I firstly reported the bug where you ping and see a sword/attack symbol if enemy has or a shield/defense if they don’t.15@BetBoomTeam Btw here is the easiest way to replicate it. Right click a watcher in fog.Red circle around = enemy got itWhite circle = enemy didn’t get it. I firstly reported the bug where you ping and see a sword/attack symbol if enemy has or a shield/defense if they don’t. https://t.co/fgPIBhfOEXAnother way to replicate the bug is by right-clicking on a Watcher in the fog. If there is a red circle around it, enemies have captured it. If there is a white circle, it is a neutral Watcher. Astini also mentioned that Azure Ray had used the bug once after the ruling, but that did not affect the outcome of their match.