Some Dota 2 Players Got A Ban For Christmas...In The Funniest Way Possible

Typically, when the holiday season rolls around, video game companies like to throw some goodies at their players. They're usually just little in-game rewards they either give us for completing a quest or just because. The Dota 2 version of this is Festivus...but things are a bit different this year.

Yes, the MOBA's players are still getting goodies. At least, those who didn’t end up on the naughty list are. Those who did land on the naughty list are getting something else completely – a lump of coal, and a ban.

According to the patch notes, this is how the “presents” will shake out.

• Accounts shared with other users or services – a ban
• Smurf accounts – a ban
• Main account associated with a banned smurf account – a piece of coal
• Everyone else – cosmetic items based on behavior score (the higher the score, the better the items)

And the bans are already going through. As Polygon notes, a former pro player and The International competitor streamed the opening of his Frostivus Gift and received the lump of coal for “Smurfing, or other violations of the Steam Terms of Service”.

So, uh.. Happy Frostivus… we guess?