Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon, the carry for Talon Esports and the highest MMR world record holder from Thailand, has issued a public apology after sparking a social media frenzy with his angry reaction against Filipino Dota 2 players.
The incident occurred when 23savage published a video clip last Friday that showed a Dota 2 player named Tusk stream sniping him while he was playing a solo ranked game. In the video, 23savage referred to Filipino gamers as “cancer,” a comment that was met with jokes by most of his video viewers.
However, some of his fans from the Philippines were disappointed with his attitude and swamped his comments section with hate and anger. Responding to his Philippine audience, 23savage deleted the video clip and offered an apology on his Twitter account.
He stated that he realized his words had hurt the feelings of the Philippines Dota 2 community and regretted his actions. He apologized to the community and the staff of the Talon team, who are mostly from the Philippines, that may have been upset by his remarks.
“I would like to apologize for my offensive and hurtful comments about the Filipino Pro Dota scene,” 23savage tweeted. “I have a great relationship with our Filipino staff and I truly do not mean to hate the Filipino community and sincerely apologize to anyone who was affected by my insensitive comments.”
Moving on
Although the majority of 23savage’s social media followers were receptive to his apology, some fans joked that 23 did not need to apologize for disclosing the ‘fact’ about the state of Dota 2 community in the Philippines. Nonetheless, the incident highlights the importance of being mindful of the language used on social media platforms and how it can affect individuals and communities.
As 23savage and his team continue to prepare for the second round of Dota Major on April 26 in Berlin, it remains to be seen how this incident will affect his performance and relationship with his fans, both Filipino and non-Filipino. However, it serves as a reminder that the online world is a powerful tool that can be used positively or negatively, and it is up to individuals to use it wisely.
