ESIC suspends CS2 team after suspected $5 million match-fixing attempt

Owen Harsono Published 24/04/2026

The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has made a move on Counter-Strike 2 team NOMERCY after very suspicious bets were reportedly placed on the team’s matches. While conducting further investigation, ESIC decided to temporarily suspend the team before making a final decision.

NOMERCY Suspected of Huge Match-Fixing Scandal

NOMERCY is a Counter-Strike 2 team consisting of a mix of European players. The team competed in Roman Imperium Cup VIII last March, which was a $10,000 Tier 2 tournament. The event was held in Portugal, where teams competed in a LAN format.

While attending the Roman Imperium Cup, NOMERCY were blown out of the competition, losing four maps in a row. The scores were:

0-13 vs BetBoom Team
3-13 vs Sangal
1-13 vs BESTIA
1-13 vs Wildcard Gaming

Sure, all of these teams were expected to win against NOMERCY, but these scorelines were extremely suspicious. The team failed to win more than five rounds across the entire tournament, which raised lots of alarm bells.

An X user by the handle @x0racs posted a screenshot of a $57,000 parlay bet being placed on esports betting site Stake.com, totaling 80.44 odds from four selections. All of these bets were reportedly placed on the opposing side’s -9.5 round handicap lines.

NOMERCY Bets (Image via @x0racs on X)

The total payout from this specific ticket was over $4.5 million. Other screenshots also surfaced of the same bets being allegedly placed on other bookmakers, with one instance showing potential winnings of over a million euros.

Did NOMERCY Get Paid Out?

Stake, the bookmaker that took in the $57,000 wager, became an anti-corruption partner of ESIC in November 2025. The betting site reportedly voided the $4.5 million payout, preventing the suspects from claiming the winnings. However, it is unclear whether other bookmakers followed suit.

There is also a high possibility of similar bets, in smaller amounts, being placed on other bookmakers, though nothing is confirmed. Whether any of these bets were voided too remains unclear.

ESIC Steps In

According to ESIC’s official report, the following individuals are subject to interim sanction:

János “James8k” Fodor
Sreten “srtn1” Smiljanić
Oliver “kzy” Heck
Petar “perakokanje” Bešir
Palkovics “playN” Tamás

This is the same starting five NOMERCY played with for the Roman Imperium Cup.

This investigation primarily focuses on, but is not limited to, abnormal betting patterns, inconsistent gameplay behavior, and contextual integrity concerns.

As a result, the NOMERCY players are now provisionally suspended from participating in any ESIC member events and competing in any sanctioned tournaments, leagues, or qualifiers.

Owen Harsono

About Owen Harsono

Owen lives for competition, spending most of his gaming hours on Dota 2, CS2, and Valorant. A regular on the SEA Dota 2 leaderboards, he combines his first-hand experience with a deep passion for esports journalism, following the professional scenes of all three esports betting titles religiously. When he’s not writing, he’s most probably betting on esports and watching the latest events.

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