ESIC sanctions 34 coaches in 1st CSGO coaching exploit report

The Esports Integrity Coalition has initiated a comprehensive investigation into a critical spectator bug that enabled Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coaches to obtain unfair tactical advantages during professional competitions. This exploit represents one of the most significant integrity breaches in recent esports history.

Following the public disclosure by referees Steve Dudenhoeffer and Michal Slowinski approximately one month prior, ESIC has now published its preliminary findings. The initial phase of their inquiry identified 37 coaching professionals who deliberately utilized this game-breaking bug. While ESIC’s disciplinary measures formally apply only to member tournament organizers like ESL, WePlay!, DreamHack, and BLAST, the organization strongly advocates for universal adoption of these sanctions across the entire CSGO competitive ecosystem.

The ESIC announcement further indicated that additional coaches will likely face sanctions as the investigation progresses. Currently, the Coalition has completed analysis of merely 20% of the total 99,650 available match recordings, with a comprehensive final report scheduled for late October.

ESIC announces sanctions against 37 individuals in relation to the exploitation of the Spectator Bug.

Only 20% of available data (99,650 demos) has been examined. ESIC to issue one final report at the end of October to close the investigation.pic.twitter.com/tyduJkVvxo— ESIC (@ESIC_Official)September 28, 2020

ESIC’s punishments for CSGO coaching bug announced

ESIC implemented a strategic one-month voluntary disclosure window, offering reduced penalties to coaches who admitted exploiting the bug before formal sanctions were imposed. The leniency program featured multiple reduction tiers based on confession timing and cooperation levels, with ESIC Commissioner Ian Smith evaluating each case according to established criteria:

1. Confession Prior to Announcement of Investigation: 40% reduction in penalty
2. Confessions Accepted In Full: 25% reduction in penalty
3. Confession Accepted (Partially): 12.50% reduction in penalty
4. Confession Rejected: 0% reduction in penalty
5. Assistance in Investigation: 20% reduction in penalty

All 37 identified coaches and their affiliated organizations now operate under an honor system based on the terms established in ESIC’s September 2nd announcement. This initial action penalized three prominent coaches: MIBR’s Ricardo “dead” Sinigaglia, Heroic’s Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen, and Hard Legion’s Aleksandr “MechanoGun” Bogatyrev, setting precedent for how bans would impact both coaching professionals and their teams.

“A ban in this context means that an individual may not work in any capacity, be accredited for, provide services to, attend or otherwise be involved in any ESIC member organizations’ activities, events, tournaments or matches, including providing services in any capacity to any participating team or player in any relevant event,” stated the official announcement.

ESIC clarifies coaching bans as Valve remains quiet

Initially, ESIC imposed Level 4 sanctions—the most severe available under their Code of Conduct—against the initial three coaches. The situation became increasingly complex as ESIC clarified how these bans would function within CSGO’s current online tournament environment.

Despite earlier communications suggesting complete separation between banned coaches and their organizations, ESIC ultimately established more nuanced restrictions that permit coaches to maintain official team affiliations under specific limitations:

• must not actively or passively communicate with the team starting 15 minutes prior to the official match start up until the end of the match
• must not be physically present around the team starting 15 minutes prior to the official match start up until the end of the match
• must not be on the game server during official matches
• must not be on the official match channel on the Discord server
• must not be part of the official map veto process nor be in communication with the team during this process

Following comprehensive investigation, ESIC sanctions span four severity tiers, ranging from the most severe Tier 1 classification to relatively minor Tier 4 penalties. The majority of sanctions fell within Tier 2, while only three coaches received Tier 3 classifications.

ESIC delivered its most stringent punishments to Tricked’s Allan “Rejin” Petersen, iGame’s Slaava “Twista” Räsänen, and MechanoGun, determining these individuals deliberately exploited the spectator bug across hundreds of competitive matches. Both HUNDEN and dead received reduced penalties, moving from initial Level 4 sanctions to Tier 2 classifications.

Note: The ESIC’s Code of Conduct and today’s documents differ in which Tier is the harshest and which is the most lenient. In the Code of Conduct, Tier 1 meant that a player was minorly penalized with Tier 4 infractions acting as the harshest. WIN.gg has reached out to the ESIC for clarification but has not received a response.

Coaching bug ban is a major moment in CSGO esports

Valve has maintained public silence regarding the coaching bug situation since their September 9 blog post, which stated that teams employing coaches who exploited the bug during 2020’s Regional Ranking tournament circuit would face tournament point resets. This penalty severely compromises affected teams’ qualification prospects for upcoming CSGO Majors. Regarding the coaches themselves, Valve adopted what many community members characterize as a passive approach, indicating they would await findings from third-party investigations before taking action.

Given that nearly all 2020 Regional Ranking tournaments were organized by ESIC member organizations, Valve may ultimately refrain from additional intervention. Alternatively, Valve might restrict RMR tournament participation exclusively to organizers implementing ESIC’s rulings, irrespective of formal membership status.

A comprehensive roster of implicated coaching professionals is available through official channels.

While ESIC maintains confidence that all listed coaches intentionally triggered the exploit, several affected individuals have already protested their sanctions. Coaches including Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström, Sergey “lmbt” Bezhanov, and Alessandro “Apoka” Marcucci have asserted their innocence or completely denied purposeful bug activation.

Irrespective of individual coaches’ culpability status, the CSGO coaching exploit scandal most profoundly impacts the game’s dedicated fanbase. Supporters watch professional matches for elite competitive entertainment, not to question their favorite teams’ competitive legitimacy.

The current report, combined with perceived indifference from Valve concerning the situation, damages the overall integrity of CSGO esports.

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