Veteran North American Dota 2 player Quinn ‘Quinn’ Callahan is in hot water over comments he made over voice chat in a ranked game ahead of The International 2023.
The International 2023 is about two weeks away from starting its group stage as the top Dota 2 teams from around the world are set to clash.
One player in the tournament, however, has become embroiled in a recent controversy over comments made in a ranked match. Gaimin Gladiators player Quinn was called out in a Reddit thread that has thousands of upvotes for making toxic comments toward another player.
The person who made the post included a video of the interaction, where Quinn can be heard telling the player to never play his character again.
“I want to die whenever I play with you. Change your name and profile pic, you’re a disgrace to the human race,” Quinn said in the clip.
Quinn was caught being toxic in Dota 2 match
The Dota 2 pro has a history of toxic behavior throughout his time in the esport; however, he seemed to have turned a corner with his recent move to Europe with Gaimin Gladiators.
Quinn addressed the situation in a lengthy apology on social media, saying that his actions were “highly unacceptable and pretty gross.”
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He also addressed his past toxicity and owned up to his transgressions. The player also called on the community to stop roping in Dota 2 casters, talent, and his organization who “haven’t publically disowned” him for his past actions as he claims they have tried to address his behavior in private.
Alright my bad behavior has gone on far too long without being addressed so I will now. The most recent clips of me and many others from the past years are highly unnaceptable and pretty gross especially the most recent one. 1/x
— Quinn Callahan (@ccncdota2) September 27, 2023
“Massive apology goes out to everyone I’ve hurt directly with my words and people I’ve stressed out or inadvertently hurt by virtue of them being near me. I’ll be working on myself in the future and changing things for the better. Sorry again to everyone,” Quinn said.
Gaimin Gladiators and Quinn qualified for TI 2023 based on Dota Pro Circuit points thanks to their high placements in the Western European league and at major tournaments. The team placed first at the ESL One Major and the Bali Major, and followed up those performances with a top-four finish at the Riyadh Masters event. Gaimin made history with that run, becoming the first team to win every Major in a single season.
TI 2023 will be Quinn’s fifth appearance at the World Championship tournament as a player. He also appeared on the event’s broadcast in 2017 as an analyst. His highest placement at the event was a top-eight finish when he played under OpTic Gaming.
TI 2023 is set to start with the group stage on October 12.