ESEA players hit with suspension for CS:GO match-fixing

ESEA has suspended three former Rebirth members and two OCG members as ESIC complete their CS:GO match-fixing investigation. Leaked audio recordings surfaced, where the former Rebirth members discussed plans to fix two matches in ESEA MDL Season 35. The five CS:GO players will face an ongoing suspension until May 3 for a “gambling violation”, ruling them out of the remainder of the ESEA Premier Season.

The Five Following Players Suspended Until May 3 for CS:GO Match-Fixing

The recording under investigation heard retchy and 4pack discuss the fixing of two matches against Incognito and Russian Canadians. At the time, the CS:GO match-fixing would benefit the Russian Canadians, who were in need of a win to enter the ESEA Premier Playoffs, whereas Rebirth were already qualified.

Before Rebirth were able to enact the match, the game against Incognito was postponed twice and the Russian Canadians ended up forfeiting their must-win game.

In the recording, retchy and 4pack discuss the fixing of two matches against Incognito and Russian Canadians. The recording has been verified by multiple premier players. The players discuss their plans to fix their match against Team Incognito. The conversation then shifts to intentionally losing the match against Russian Canadians. The match against Incognito was postponed twice while Russian Canadians ended up forfeiting their game. 

The Full transcript of the conversation can be found in this article written by Rohan Samal.

The suspension will impact the current ESEA Premier season as both teams are slated to compete in the ESEA Premier Playoffs, starting on April 13. While ChocoCheck will have enough players on their roster to play with stand-ins, OCG do not have the same comfort and will need to hope an exception will be made from ESEA to add additional members on such late notice.

CS:GO match-fixing investigations are numerous and ongoing in the ESEA MDL as the temptation to control CS:GO matches for betting purposes continues to intensify.

ESIC Commissioner Ian Smith revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would now be involved in the various CS:GO match-fixing investigations. The FBI will aid in the focus of players bribed by outside “betting syndicates” in order to fix CS:GO match-fixing in an orderly manner.

With more focus put into the CS:GO match-fixing investigations, the hope is that players will shy away from breaking the rules around gambling and purposely throwing their own matches for monetary purposes.

The ESEA Premier Playoffs will begin on April 13 where 8 teams will compete in the Upper Bracket Portion of the tournament for their lion’s share of $50,000. ChocoCheck will be matched up against Extra Salt while OCG will be up against High Coast as the two teams will do their best to perform with suspended players.