An unusual political conflict is unfolding in Brazil — and it may move from government offices to the Dota 2 battlefield. Chandy Teixeira, head of the gaming and esports department of the Rio de Janeiro prefecture, and Kim Kataguiri, a deputy from the Brazil Union party, are planning to settle their professional disagreements in a 5v5 match of Dota 2.
The discussion began with a post by Teixeira on X, where he argued that the gaming community should be more careful in distinguishing politicians who genuinely work to develop the industry from those who use gaming merely to attract voters ahead of elections.
“The community is already mature enough to understand who is exploiting the topic and who is actually working,” Teixeira stated, indirectly referring to Kataguiri.
Filipe Astini, coach of the Nemesis esports club, came to the deputy’s defense. Astini pointed out that Kataguiri streams Dota 2 regularly regardless of the political cycle. He also joked that “if Kim only wanted popularity, he would have chosen the far more mainstream League of Legends instead of the notoriously difficult Dota 2.”
Kataguiri later joined the discussion himself, rejecting accusations of opportunism and proposing that the issue be settled directly in-game. The deputy challenged Teixeira to assemble a five-player team for a match against his own squad.
Kataguiri’s conditions for the wager:
To back up his experience, Kataguiri posted a screenshot of his Steam profile showing more than 4,300 hours played in Dota 2. He also reminded followers that he was the only deputy in the country who promoted the “March of the Games” initiative.
Teixeira did not directly reject the proposal but complained about the difficulty of assembling his own team. Kataguiri mocked the response, suggesting that his opponent was trying to avoid a direct confrontation.
Reminder: FURIA and Team Spirit continue their steady march toward the playoffs, while Team Falcons suffered a shocking loss to 9z Team at PGL Astana 2026.
