The Danish organization, Astralis, faced penalties for their failure to disclose and report an existing conflict of interest.
Astralis was fined $100,000 after being found guilty of violating the rules and regulations outlined in ESL‘s Louvre Agreement.
An independent investigation discovered that Astralis had sought and received services from an individual who would become their employee between April and July 2021. This created a conflict of interest since the person held a position of authority within a rival team.
Although the employee responsible for the conflict of interest was not disclosed in ESL‘s statement, it matched the findings of Richard Lewis’s report earlier in the year. The report revealed that Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen had signed an agreement with Astralis while still under contract as the coach of Heroic in 2021.
The sanction was imposed shortly after Astralis abruptly severed ties with both HUNDEN, who served as their head analyst, and Director of Sports Kasper Hvidt, who was directly involved in HUNDEN‘s signing, according to Lewis’s report.
However, HUNDEN claimed on Twitter that his departure from Astralis was unrelated to the ESL investigation. He also mentioned that his actions fell under “non-sanctionable conduct” in this case, while only Astralis received a fine.
In January 2023, the Commissioner’s Office of the Louvre Agreement was made aware of a range of claims about a possible breach of the partnership’s rules and regulations. In line with its governance code, an independent investigation was commissioned, approved by the ESL Pro League’s Executive Board. It found that Astralis asked for and received services from a future employee between April and July 2021, which created a Conflict of Interest as that party held a position of authority within a competitor team. As a result, the Executive Board has decided that: Astralis is fined a grand total of USD 100,000 for maintaining and not reporting an existing conflict of interest. This total includes legal and procedural fees. The independent inquiry found that no competition or match results were impacted, which the Executive Board wishes to place on record.
ESL
This incident marks the latest in a series of controversies involving Astralis and HUNDEN. Other controversies include Heroic‘s allegations that the Danish coach shared confidential material with Astralis in 2021.
