After getting slapped with a two-year ban from the ESIC, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s most scandalous coach claims to have been uninvolved in his own investigation.
The Esports Integrity Commission has levied a ban against Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen for attempting to share strategic information with another team. The CSGO veteran has maintained his innocence in the case. According to statements given to Danish publication TV2, HUNDEN was never given an opportunity to defend himself during the ESIC’s investigation.
HUNDEN was found guilty of sending a Google Drive link to another CSGO coach, presumably Danny “zonic” Sørensen of Astralis. The Google Drive contained strategies that Heroic’s competitors had created to counter the team. The link was never accessed but the potential breach of integrity was enough to warrant immediate expulsion from Heroic. The former Heroic coach has since come forward claiming to have never testified in his own trial.
“I am deeply touched by this situation. I am deeply unhappy that they do not choose to hear me in this case, as I think it is a huge assessment case,” HUNDEN said to TV2, according to digital translation.
“I have never been heard in the case. The only thing ESIC has done is threaten me by saying that if I choose to appeal the verdict, I will be given a five-year quarantine instead,” HUNDEN continued.
The Esports Integrity Commission is the only body actively pursuing fraud in esports. The ESIC has previously been accused of playing favorites and heeding the beck and call of major tournament organizers like ESL. But the organization is generally respected for exposing previous instances of fraud, including the CSGO coach bug scandal that led to HUNDEN’s first ban.
As part of the ESIC’s investigation, HUNDEN claimed that other members of the Heroic organization were aware of the coach bug abuse that haunted competitive CSGO for years. He even claimed that some players, though not all of them, were aware of the abuse as it happened. The ESIC has reopened an investigation into the coach bug scandal. If others are found guilty, the length of HUNDEN’s ban could be shortened to thank him for his cooperation.
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