Valve's Clever Ban Strategy: Gift-Wrapped Punishments for Cheating Dota 2 Players

Valve, the company behind the popular game Dota 2, has taken trolling to a new level by sending permabans wrapped up like Christmas presents to players caught smurfing, or playing on secondary accounts to bypass skill-based matchmaking rules. Pro player and streamer Mason "mason" Venne was one of the recipients, expressing shock and disbelief on his Twitch stream. While some fans are enjoying the chaos, others are pleading for their accounts to be reinstated. Valve had previously banned 90,000 cheaters for smurfing in September. The question now is how forgiving Valve will be during this holiday season.