“I only ask for clarity: to know exactly what I am accused of” - TaiLung released a statement after the ban from PGL

Professional player Santiago 'TaiLung' Olivos Aguero Gustavo, who received a lifetime ban from tournaments from PGL, published a statement on his personal social networks regarding allegations of participation in match fixing.

Santiago 'TaiLung' Olivos Aguero Gustavo

First of all, I want to apologize for the inconvenience and anxiety this whole situation may have caused. Until now I have chosen to remain silent, but I feel it is necessary to publicly explain, from my point of view, what I have been through in recent days.

The team was recently notified of a situation regarding betting on LGD Gaming matches. According to what we were told, a data analyst associated with a betting company discovered an account that was betting on our games.

After I learned about this situation, I tried to get more information to understand what was going on. I was later informed that this account allegedly bet between 20,000 and 40,000 per match. I was also told that his activity was not limited to our games and that he made a large number of losing bets.

From that moment on I felt that everything had changed. Suspicions began to be directed towards me, and some of my teammates began to mistrust me. I didn't understand why I was being associated with something so serious or what evidence even existed against me.

One night, while I was resting, Yuma and KJ came into my room and directly asked me if I had anything to do with this situation. I clearly told them no. From my point of view, I felt that more and more people around me were treating me as if I had already been found guilty before I could even understand what I was accused of or defend myself.

I want to be honest: all this began to affect me greatly. I felt accused, under pressure and constantly under suspicion. Never before had I had to deal with a situation of this magnitude, and I admit that at that moment I may not have had the maturity or emotional preparation to properly respond to such pressure. I felt like everything I had worked for could disappear in an instant.

TaiLung talked about checking his phone and accusations due to old correspondence.

Santiago 'TaiLung' Olivos Aguero Gustavo

On August 6, LGD Gaming released a statement saying that after reviewing the information available at the time, no suspicious match activity or other anomalies were found.

On August 7, the club asked me to provide a phone number for verification. I agreed because I was willing to cooperate with the investigation. During the investigation, they discovered old correspondence with a friend dating back to the Zeinternacional period, a tournament that was completely different and unrelated to my participation in competitions for LGD Gaming.

In this correspondence, a friend joked with me about betting on match-fixing, and I supported this joke. I admit that it was a mistake to continue the conversation in this format, and I fully understand that without context it could create a negative impression. However, I never accepted any proposals or entered into any agreements related to what was discussed.

While all of this was going on, I received a message that I think is important to clear up. The message came from an unknown number. The person who wrote it introduced himself as my mother and mentioned a certain amount of money. This number was not my mother's number.

My mother's real number was already saved in my phone, and it was different. Both the person who checked my phone and the rest of those present could at that moment be convinced that the message came from an unknown number. I also didn't know who was really behind this number.

This whole situation, coupled with the fact that I already felt interrogated and under suspicion, made me very nervous. When this message appeared, I became even more afraid that it would immediately be perceived as something directed against me.

The pressure I felt at that moment was enormous. My mind seemed to shut down, and I reacted impulsively: I picked up the phone and threw it away. I want to take responsibility for this reaction. It was a mistake, and I understand perfectly well that it could have further increased suspicions against me.

I also want to sincerely apologize to my teammates for my behavior at that time. I understand that this whole situation has also affected them and that my reaction may have caused even more anxiety and mistrust.

But I want to emphasize one fundamental difference: a poor reaction in a state of fear and pressure does not mean that I participated in bets, match fixing or any other violation. I didn't hang up the phone because I did anything related to these accusations. I acted impulsively because I was scared, extremely nervous, and felt that everything that was happening around me was being used to blame me.

If these circumstances have raised suspicions, I am ready for everything to be objectively verified through the appropriate procedures. If required, I am also willing to provide the opportunity to review accounts and financial transactions to determine whether any transactions actually exist involving the amounts mentioned.

I have no objection to the investigation. On the contrary: I want it to be completed. I only ask that any conclusions be based on verifiable evidence, and not just on interpretations, suspicions or anecdotal evidence.

After all this I was removed from the team. Later, representatives of LGD Gaming suggested that I voluntarily go inactive and refuse to participate in The International; otherwise, I am informed, the matter would continue to be thoroughly investigated. I refused.

I refused because I have my own principles and values. Since the beginning of my Dota 2 career, I have never thought about anything other than competition and the desire to win at any cost. I have dedicated a huge part of my life to this game with the goal of achieving maximum success and would never ruin it all by doing something that goes against everything I've worked for.

This is why, if anyone had doubts about me, I preferred to have everything investigated to the end, rather than voluntarily leaving and accepting a situation with which I did not agree. In addition, we won the TI qualifiers together, and this was supposed to be my first The International. I didn't want to pass up this opportunity after all the work I had put in.

However, the next day I was informed that PGL had disqualified me and that I would no longer be able to participate in TI. Since then, this whole situation has affected me deeply. I still don't have answers, and I saw how people I thought were friends began to see me as a person I never wanted to be.

I not only lost the opportunity to play my first The International. I also saw my name, my reputation and my career publicly linked to extremely serious allegations. Since then, I have received a lot of criticism and accusations, including from people whom I considered friends or close acquaintances and who previously turned to me for help or simply communicated with me in various situations.

What is most difficult for me is to understand how so many opinions and accusations appeared when, until today, it was not even publicly explained what kind of violation I am accused of and what evidence exists against me. All that is happening now is creating a fuss about a man who has always tried to be nice to others.

Many people draw conclusions based on rumors and third-party accounts without knowing what really happened. Therefore, I believe it is important to separate rumors from facts. I am still waiting for an answer as to what exactly I am accused of and what evidence is based on a decision that could have such a serious impact on my career and reputation.

In conclusion, the esportsman asked LGD Gaming and PGL to reveal the reasons for his suspension.

Santiago 'TaiLung' Olivos Aguero Gustavo

I want to make it clear that in every game I have played, my goal has always been to win. I understand that some people may reconsider our defeats and draw conclusions based on individual moments. We lost matches to teams like BetBoom Team, but Dota 2 is an extremely difficult team game. There were individual mistakes, buyout decisions, draft picks and many other things that can be objectively analyzed through replays. Therefore, I encourage you to review all my matches and my game, and not just individual episodes.

This is why I want to publicly ask LGD and PGL: what exactly is the reason for my suspension? If there is concrete evidence against me, I want to know exactly what I am accused of, see that evidence, and be given the opportunity to respond appropriately. If I am proven by verifiable facts to have engaged in such conduct, I will accept the appropriate consequences, including a lifetime ban from all competition. But if there is no evidence of such accusations, I believe that the minimum I deserve is a public acknowledgment of it and an appropriate apology.

If the decision was made based on other factors, I also want to know which ones. I understand that I may not be able to play at The International in the end. But now the question has long gone beyond the scope of participation or non-participation in the tournament.

An accusation of this seriousness could impact my career, reputation and future for years to come. And this whole situation also deeply affected me personally. I'm not asking anyone to simply believe my version. I'm not asking you to ignore any evidence. And I'm not asking for special treatment. I am ready to cooperate with any serious and transparent investigation and provide the necessary information through the appropriate procedures.

I only ask for clarity: to find out exactly what I am accused of. I want to see the evidence on which these allegations are based and be given a fair opportunity to respond and defend myself, as any person should have the right to do. I believe it is extremely important not to treat someone as guilty until the facts and evidence support such a conclusion.

At the end, I want to apologize again to my teammates. I understand that my absence from TI caused problems for them and that this whole situation also affected them. I'm truly sorry they had to go through this. I consider them my second family and would never do anything to harm them.

Regardless of what happens to me and what the outcome of this situation is, I sincerely wish them good luck at The International and hope that they can achieve a good result. After everything that has happened, I only hope to have the opportunity to clarify the facts and defend myself fairly.

Previously, PGL suspended Santiago 'TaiLung' Olivos Aguero Gustavo from participating in The International 2026 and all subsequent tournaments of the organization. His place in the LGD Gaming lineup at TI will be taken by Topias 'Topson' Mikka Taavitsainen.