ESIC banned peacemaker, hally and zakk from PGL Major Antwerp 2022!

The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has emitted three charge notices to current Imperial coach Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu, Spirit coach Sergey “hally” Shavaev, and 9z coach Rafael “zakk” Fernandes, based on findings linking the three coaches to the use of the infamous spectator bug between 2018 and 2020.

The trio has been temporarily barred from participating in ESIC member events, and they have been informed of impending punishment, the length and severity of which has yet to be determined, and which is also subject to ESIC’s ultimate decision.

PGL and Valve are not members of ESIC, hence ESIC has no competence to make a judgment about the coaches’ participation in PGL Major Antwerp 2022. Valve and PGL have yet to comment on the matter, but it is apparent that the three coaches have been prevented from competing in the Belgian tournament with their teams, as Spirit and 9z confirmed in remarks about the situation earlier on Friday.

Update: PGL have confirmed that Valve has made the decision to ban the three coaches from the Antwerp Major.

According to ESIC, hally and zakk were discovered to have been exposed to the static spectator bug (the same version that led to the suspension of 37 coaches in September 2020) for one round in the Russian’s case (representing Espada) and one and a half rounds spanning two matches in the Brazilian’s instance (representing 9z and Luminosity).

When dealing with instances containing the static bug, ESIC has announced that it will utilize the same punishment matrix as it did in September 2020. Hally and zakk would face a 5-month ban based on that and comparable incidents from the previous ban wave, without taking into consideration any concessions. During one round of a 2018 match between Heroic and Imperial, peacemaker was discovered to have utilized the free-roam version. ESIC found this variation of the problem to be the most serious, justifying the application of a punishment equivalent to cheating, which may last up to 24 months.

The governing board explained that the consequence of acquiring an unfair advantage did not play a role in the decision, implying that it didn’t matter whether the team in question exploited the information gathered while the coach was in the bug. The risk of exploitation, as well as the fact that those implicated “did not behave in an acceptable manner” when confronted with the flaw, were enough to justify punishment.

Many more charges are anticipated to be filed shortly since a total of 134 persons have been identified as “participants” in the three coaching bug types (including the 37 previously banned). These three coaches were most likely selected out owing to their participation in the forthcoming PGL Major Antwerp.

To read the full report on ESIC official website click here.

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