The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has finally announced its verdict on match-fixing Rebirth team players. The players in question and the famous match-fixing case had been on the news for a very long time. Most recently, the ban span of three of the players came to an end. See our coverage on that here.
As a reminder on the case that shook the public, everything broke out last April. An audio recording of former Rebirth members, Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano, Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak, and Carson “nosraC” O’Reilly leaked. Thus, players who made fixing plans for the ESEA Season 35: Premier League North America leg came into the light.
FBI also took part in the investigation, as the event turned into a big and organized crime. Other law enforcement officers did their part as well in the investigation.
ESIC Bans Two Players from Competitive Matches for Five Year
On August 23, ESIC shared an update note about this sensational scandal. Three players in the leaked recording have been suspended since April 2. ESIC suspended five of Rebirth players for five years due to the violation of the Anti-Corruption Code.
As a result, Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano and Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak will not be able to return to the game before April 1, 2026.
ESIC issued heavy penalties on two of the match-fixing players. However, Carson “nosraC” O’Reilly was not charged. The main reason for this was that there was only a half sentence said by the 21-year-old US player. This makes it impossible to make a judgment on the player. As a consequence, violation of the Anti-Corruption Code does not come into play either.
However, this does not save “nosraC” from being punished, because he commits another basic crime which is not reporting the crime and/or offender/s. In other words, he knows the crime but does not tell it to the authorities. From the date of his suspension on April 2, he is punished with another one that will last 111 days. Considering the elapsed time, his sentence is already over though.
Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) also gave a detailed statement on the subject:
After assessing Mr. O’Reilly’s participation in the conversation, ESIC further engaged in investigatory lines of enquiry to seek out any evidence of further involvement in any corrupt behavior beyond the recording. As at 22 July 2021, ESIC has concluded that there is currently no evidence that suggests that, unlike Mr Tropiano and Mr Przypasniak, Mr. O’Reilly perpetrated any other breaches of the Code.
Consequently, time served by Mr. O’Reilly under effective suspension from the period of 2 April 2021 to 22 July 2021 has been deemed, by the Commissioner, as a sufficient sanction proportionate to his offence and he has been free since 22 July 2021, to play in ESIC member events.
Fate of J0LZ and vek
Alex “vek” Voynow and David “J0LZ” Jolin, are the main people of interest. As we can remember, vek and J0LZ were among ones for a while that could be punished.
However, ESIC did not review them under the violation of the Anti-Corruption Law. Therefore, players are free to take part in events covered by ESIC. So it is possible to say that their names are now clear.
ESIC Explanation on How They Managed the Process
All eyes were on ESIC throughout the process. Transparency in decision-making was very important to the followers as well. That’s why ESIC also touched on how they manage the process:
- ESIC, having resolved charges against three individuals named in this release, is still investigating and resolving charges for 34 individuals for breaches of the Anti-Corruption Code during their participation in the ESEA Premier: North America.
- Investigations into each individual comprise one ‘sub-investigation’ which holds its own host of challenges and complications.
- ESIC has continued to work with law enforcement on all relevant overlapping areas of investigation.
- ESIC is also working with a network of 40+ Anti-Corruption Supporters and non-member organisations to draw out betting data relevant to the investigation. This process is time consuming and ongoing.
- ESIC is, in addition, working with stakeholders to negotiate logistics for the examination of non-betting related data relevant to this investigation.
- Most pertinent to the complications faced and the length of this investigation is ESIC’s observation of compelling evidence that suggests that organised crime groups and foreign betting syndicates were involved in fraudulent activities during the course of season 35 of the ESEA Premier: North America.
- Finally, in order for ESIC to functionally eradicate or to the greatest extent mitigate the existence of bad actors in esports, the investigation must be completed with the time and attention required – no matter how long – to provide the appropriate punishments and create a meaningful deterrent to future recurrence.
ESIC emphasized that they focused on the issue meticulously. A statement about the HUNDEN case can take place tomorrow as well (August 25). You can learn further details from this article.
