His career in esports is seriously compromised.
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) banned the CS2 pro Erkhan "gokushima" Bagynanov for two years for match-fixing. This ban will prevent the 23-year-old from attending any ESIC-sanctioned events, which includes both ESL and BLAST—two of the biggest tournament operators in CS2.
While ESIC only announced gokushima's ban on April 11, the esports watchdog banned the Russian pro on March 27. Gokushima is part of FORZE's CS2 roster, but he played his last professional match on March 27, the exact day of his ESIC ban.
ESIC details why gokushima was banned
Though ESIC didn't specify what matches gokushima has fixed and when the breaches occur, the esports watchdog detailed the exact articles breached by the CS2 pro that led to his two-year ban.
2.1 Corruption (ESIC's Anti-Corruption Code)
- 2.1.1: "Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct, or any other aspect of any Match."
Related articles
2.2 Betting (ESIC's Anti-Corruption Code)
- 2.2.1: Betting on any Match, including matches that you were a professional participant in during the ESL IEM events as detailed in the infringements above.
- 2.2.2: Facilitating, aiding, abetting or otherwise assisting any party in committing acts described in 2.2.1.
- 2.4.2 to 2.4.5: Failing to disclose to the ESIC a full and true disclosure of all the facts and circumstances with respect to acts described in 2.1 and 2.2.
- Further offences under the ESIC Code of Conduct articles as follows;
- 2.1.5: Where the facts of the alleged incident are not adequately or clearly covered by any of the above offences, conduct that brings Esport, the Game, Event, ESIC or a Member into disrepute.
- 2.2.8: Match manipulation for inappropriate reasons.
Who is gokushima and how long has he been playing CS2?
Although gokushima has played in tournaments and online leagues since 2021, he only gained some recognition after CS2 released in 2023 because he was one of the top-ranked players in Premier mode early on.
FORZE signed gokushima in October 2023 and notably helped FORZE to qualify for the ongoing $350,000 European online tournament Skyesports Masters 2024. Gokushima, however, isn't attending the event as it started in April, therefore after ESIC banned the CS2 pro for match-fixing.
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