There are new developments in the match fixing investigation, which broke out last April and included the FBI. ESEA has made new decisions about players whose licenses have been suspended. Accordingly, three of the 5 players who were banned in the match-fixing investigation proved to be innocent. These players are Russian Canadian’s David ”J0LZ” Jolin, Alex ”vek” Voynov, and Rebirth’s Carson ”nosraC” O’Reilly.
These players were banned in April. At the center of the investigation were the recordings of a conversation between Sebastian ”retchy” Tropiano and Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak.
In fact, the penalty of one of the players, nosraC, ended while the investigation was ongoing, following the recommendation of the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC). ESEA did not clearly state the reason why J0LZ and vek’s sentences ended. However, the incoming information shows that ESIC has given similar recommendations for these players.
Match Fixing Investigation: How did the process go on?
In a leaked recording, retchy and 4pack were arguing about fixing a match against Russian Canadian in ESEA MDL Season 35. Of course, as a result of these allegations, the match did not take place and they were deemed defeated by forfeit.
According to Retchy’s statement, he agreed to share the proxy to use his radar in favor of the opposing team. So Rebirth could take advantage. Moreover, according to the claim, J0LZ did not make a buzz about this situation. There is also nosraC’s voice in the recording. However, it is not clear whether the player accepts this situation. Ultimately, with this result, they aimed to generate income from gambling sites.
Before the recording came to light in February, vek made a statement and denied the accusations:
There is no evidence that I personally accepted anything. Because I’ve never been involved in anything like this. This person is using my name. But I don’t know why. I can’t control who pronounces my name and for what reason.
Upon the discovery of the registration, ESEA suspended the licenses of these five players, following the advice of ESIC. Thus, the relevant match of ESEA MDL Season 35 was followed closely with an investigation.
At the end of March, Ian Smith, one of the authorized names of ESEA, announced that the FBI was involved in the investigation. Thus, players who bet on him and other people who benefit from this situation were closely examined.
4 months after this statement, they suspended these five players for 2 months for the first time. However, this deadline was subsequently extended indefinitely for ESIC to complete the investigation. In addition, although there is no explanation about retchy and 4pack, the extended date ends on August 1. If they don’t make an extension, the bans of these players will also end on August 1.
